On July 23rd, Denver had the poorest air quality in the US due to excessive ozone and particle pollution caused by wildfire smoke in the western US and Canada.
Ozone action day alerts were issued by the Regional Air Quality Council and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment for residents of the Front Range metropolitan corridor, which includes the Denver-Boulder region, Fort Collins, and Greeley.
Colorado is seeing a surge of smoke from wildfires from the Pacific Northwest and Canada, which is lowering visibility and air quality in Denver. July 22nd was designated as a First Alert Weather Day. Residents were warned of unhealthy air throughout the Front Range and much of northern Colorado until Tuesday afternoon. This summer’s Front Range pollution has been unprecedented due to a mix of factors, including smoke from wildfires and elevated ground-level ozone.
The Swiss firm IQAir ranked Denver as one of the most polluted cities in the world. With a moderately good air quality index score of 88, Denver was rated ninth in the globe.
The CDPHE has issued an ozone notice that will remain in effect until 4 PM. However, the weather reports have indicated that the alert might be prolonged for the coming days due to the persistence of wildfire smoke.
The National Weather Service said that things should start to clear up by Thursday. Staying inside, limiting outside activities to essentials, reducing pollution-inducing objects, and not burning waste during an air quality warning were in their advisory.
No precipitation is anticipated until later in the evening, when a few scattered thunderstorms or showers will occur. A gentle southwestern wind will blow throughout the night.
Forecasts for the eastern plains and metro Denver indicate moderate temperatures, with lows in the 50s and 40s in the mountain areas.
This week, the world’s worst air quality was in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
