air quality

After a weekend of decent blue skies, towns in western Montana are back to 'Very Unhealthy" air quality index numbers of 200+. The skies are hazy and you can taste the smoke in the air.

Currently, China and India have cleaner air than we do. Wildfire smoke got serious this weekend and Montana has some of the worst air quality on the entire planet right now when it comes to particulate matter. It's unhealthy in dozens of locations across the state.

We've become used to the fire season Air Quality Alerts during the summer across Montana. The terrible wildfires of the last few seasons have made them a common occurrence. However, parts of Montana are susceptible to Air Stagnation Alerts during the WINTER, stemming mostly from wood-burning stove usage.

With burning eyes, runny noses, and our AQIs hitting the 170s on several occasions in recent days...Montanans could really go for an old-school, heavy snowstorm right about now. A big one. With many inches of accumulation.

Monday's air was dangerous. Tuesday's air is not much better. With Bozeman AQI's ranging from 110s to 160s, be very careful with your outdoor activities and how much of the outdoor air you allow inside your home.

It's gorgeous, but it's smoky in Big Sky this week. It's been at unhealthy levels off and on for weeks now. Air Quality Index numbers have been hovering in the 120s.

Yellowstone National Park, along with most counties in western Wyoming are still dealing with unhealthy air quality. The air quality index for YNP has been hovering around 100 which is "unhealthy for sensitive groups".

The Gallatin Valley was blanketed by a fresh layer of wildfire smoke on Friday morning that you could actually taste.

Just about every county in Idaho is under an Air Stagnation Advisory through most of the weekend. Montana has a couple counties as well that qualify for a Stagnation Advisory.

There's just not a lot of air movement which is making for polluted air close to the ground. Through Friday at noon, those who have respiratory issues should use caution while outside.

Dirty, polluted, stagnant air may be a problem for several western Montana counties until Thursday around Noon. Those with respiratory issues should use extra caution during this time.

The skies are still quite hazy on Tuesday around Bozeman but the Air Quality Alert has been lifted for now. As of Tuesday morning, the AQI improved to 87.