For two consecutive days this week, Seattle recorded the worst air quality of any city in the world, surpassing infamously filthy places like Beijing and Delhi.
A combination of forest fires burning in the surrounding Cascade Mountains and many weeks of unusually hot and dry weather in the area contributed to the city’s terrible air quality.
The sun, the city skyline, and even Mount Rainier were entirely obscured by smoke and fog as it flowed into the streets of the city.
The view from the top of the Seattle Space Needle was similarly depressing, with the majority of the city hidden during the daytime hours under a terrifying cloud of smoke.
The air quality monitor IQAIR deemed Seattle’s Air Quality Index (AQI) on Wednesday to be at a “very unhealthy” level of 240 or above. Beijing recorded a very low “unhealthy” 167.
According to the Washington Post, many Seattle residents only went outdoors while wearing masks, and the air was thick with the pungent smell of smoke.
Seattle’s ranking at the top of the smoggy heap, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Maddie Kristell, is a “shocking fact.”
She said that a continuous high pressure ridge nearby prevented the city from receiving necessary storm rains, allowing dryness and fires to thrive instead.
That ridge, according to Kristell, “was incredibly powerful and it simply wasn’t allowing a shift in weather patterns to get through.”
Since June, Washington State has experienced an exceptional drought in addition to many months of extremely high temperatures.
After reaching 88 degrees Fahrenheit only last Sunday, Seattle shattered its previous record for the warmest day this late in the autumn.
All through Thursday, Seattle remained infuriatingly at the top of the rankings.
Seattle has consistently held onto second position, even though Karachi, Pakistan presently has the top slot after Delhi, India briefly had it by evening.
Seattle had an AQI of 176 around midnight on Thursday, which is considered “unhealthy” by IQAir.
On the website, it was advised to close windows to block the smoky air, turn on air purifiers within, wear masks outside, and refrain from doing any outdoor activity.
On Friday, rain is predicted to return to Seattle, clearing the air of smoke and restoring it to a healthy level.