New Air Quality Alerts For SW Montana on Tuesday
Bozeman, Belgrade, and Big Sky are just a few of the areas being inundated with wildfire smoke again on Tuesday morning. Many parts of Montana are feeling the weight of bad air quality because of the smoke.
The Elk Fire which is burning outside of Sheridan, Wyoming, is affecting the air quality around Bozeman, Red Lodge. and Billings. Unhealthy AQIs are being recorded again on Tuesday morning and are expected to continue.
Parts of Montana are experiencing AQI numbers that are as polluted as notoriously dirty parts of the world: Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and China, etc. The AQI stands for the Air Quality Index number.
As of Tuesday morning, there are Air Quality Alerts in effect for Wilsall, Belgrade, Bozeman, Big Sky, Big Timber, Red Lodge, Billings, Lockwood, and several other towns in southern Montana.
"The U.S. Air Quality Index (AQI) is EPA's tool for communicating about outdoor air quality and health. The AQI includes six color-coded categories, each corresponding to a range of index values. The higher the AQI value, the greater the level of air pollution and the greater the health concern." (EPA.gov)
"The AQI is divided into six categories. Each category corresponds to a different level of health concern. Each category also has a specific color. The color makes it easy for people to quickly determine whether air quality is reaching unhealthy levels in their communities." (EPA.gov)
- Bozeman AQI = (Auger Lane) 159
- Bozeman AQI = (Simmons Lane) 151
- Bozeman AQI = (Poplar Drive) 163
- Big Sky AQI = (Seven Bears Trail) 152
- Big Sky AQI = (Summit View Drive) 158
- Red Lodge AQI = (Red Lodge High School) 168
- Hardin AQI = (Road 161) 154
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