Heat, flooding and wildfire smoke have made for treacherous conditions. Use this guide to determine when it’s safe to head out and when you should stay home.

Excessive rain and flooding in the Northeast, a dangerous heat wave with triple-digit temperatures across the South, West and Midwest, and smoke from wildfires in Canada have all come together to make this a summer of weather extremes in the United States, in which going outside can be riddled with perils.

So how do you know when it’s safe to venture out?

https://web.archive.org/web/20230725220424/https:/www.nytimes.com/2023/07/20/well/live/air-quality-heat-flooding-safety-check.html

Air Quality, Heat, Rainfall: How to Check if It’s Safe to Go Outside

^{Alisha Haridasani Gupta (The New York Times)}