With no fire in sight, people in Connecticut are smelling smoke in the air as a result of wildfires in Nova Scotia. The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection expects air quality in the state to be unhealthy for sensitive groups Tuesday afternoon and evening.

DEEP said in a news release it expected smoke to elevate fine particulate matter levels for about four hours in any given part of the state, starting after 2 p.m. and peaking around 7 p.m., as smoke moves west. It expects air quality to improve rapidly later in the evening.

This means an increased likelihood of respiratory symptoms for people with asthma and other lung disease, aggravated heart or lung disease, and premature death among the elderly and those with cardiopulmonary disease.

DEEP encourages people to limit prolonged outdoor exertion.

“The smoke’s arrival from Nova Scotia is due to an unusual weather pattern that will bring easterly surface winds over Connecticut,” DEEP explained. The department monitors, tracks and forecasts daily air quality levels from May 1 through Sept. 30 each year.