Seattle's air quality was worse than Chengdu, China and Kuwait City on Tuesday morning, according to AirVisual. Air quality in Seattle ranked worst among major cities worldwide Tuesday, according to AirVisual, a data visualization tool that tracks air quality. AirVisual data showed Seattle’s air quality (Air Quality Index 181) was poorer than Portland, Ore. (AQI 175), Santiago, Chile (AQI 160), and Chengdu, China (AQI 153) on Tuesday. However, Seattle’s air quality is slightly clearer compared to other towns and cities in Western Washington, which housed four of the top five stations with the worst air quality in the United States on Tuesday morning. Bellingham, Cheeka Peak in Clallam County, Anacortes, and the Olympia-Tumwater-Lacey metro area all had “unhealthy” air, according to AirNow, a government agency that measures air quality. Those four cities had air quality indexes ranging between AQI 185 and AQI 190. Pendleton, Ore. had the worst air quality in the country Tuesday, coming in at 201 AQI, which is considered very unhealthy. A second round of wildfire smoke has blanketed Western Washington since Sunday after shifting winds brought haze from fires in British Columbia and Eastern Washington. Air quality is expected to deteriorate further Tuesday before onshore winds bring improvement Thursday.<doc-sep>PORTLAND, Ore. – Hazy skies have covered the Pacific Northwest this week, the result of smoke from wildfires burning up and down the West Coast. Poor air quality has sent residents scurrying indoors as experts warn that this might be the new normal for this area. Seattle’s air quality has been among the worst in the world this week, as the Emerald City registered even worse than Beijing, often considered the barometer for poor air quality around the world. Fortune reported that hazardous readings – when the Air Quality Index hits between 301 and 500 – are “the future.” Related:Clean air goes up in smoke with California fires The Air Quality Index runs from 0 to 500. Higher numbers mean greater air pollution, which lead to increased health concerns. In some Seattle neighborhoods Wednesday, the AQI registered as high as 183, a number considered unhealthy for the general population. Does this mean Seattle can expect to regularly top Beijing in terms of poor air quality? Not so fast, said Landon Bosisio, a communications officer at the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency in Seattle. “Obviously that’s not something we’re accustomed to seeing (having worse air than Beijing), but on average, they have worse air than us,” Bosisio said. “A lot of their bad air comes in the winter. It’s a matter of timing.” Still, Bosisio acknowledged that poor air quality in summer months – when wildfires have a tendency to spark and grow exponentially – is likely here to stay. “This is definitely the worst air quality we’ve seen since we started measuring 20 years ago,” he said. “Obviously we can’t predict the future, and we can’t say with any certainty this will happen every year, but with climate change, yes, this is becoming an ongoing trend.” Other experts agree. “Widespread smoke from synchronous fires across much of western North America are a game-changer for how we think about and cope with fire impacts,” said John Abatzoglou, a climate scientist at the University of Idaho. Abatzoglou noted that recent studies have predicted that increased wildfire activity will lead to an increase in “smoke waves" per year. A smoke wave is a term describing two or more consecutive days of air that contains fine, potentially harmful particles that can travel hundreds of miles and poison the air far from the actual fire source. Air-quality experts and doctors have been in high demand this week, as locals question whether it’s safe to be outside. Though it’s easy to feel helpless in a situation controlled by Mother Nature, Bosisio and others say there are steps everyone can take to mitigate the risk of health problems. “Stay indoors, limit strenuous activity, close the windows and run air conditioning,” Bosisio said. “If you don’t have A/C, try to find a public place, like the library or community center, that might have cleaner air. Now is really the time to check in with your neighbors, especially ones with children, or elderly relatives to make sure they’re doing alright. And if you have A/C, maybe invite them over so they can get some clean air, too.” And don’t go rushing out to buy an air purifier or a mask — those are often a waste of money. Air purifiers have a habit of creating Ozone as they’re cleaning the air, which is also bad for your health. Masks might look cool, but that’s about all they’re doing. Jennifer Flynt, the chief public information officer at Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality, said that while masks are often readily available, they’re typically not helpful. “The message we’re getting from health authorities is that most masks are not effective and can give a false sense of security,” Flynt said. Dr. Gopal Allada, an associate professor in the division of pulmonary and critical care medicine at Oregon Health & Science University’s School of Medicine in Portland, said people who want to wear masks need to look for either the P-100 or N-95 variety. Those masks “are worn by people who work with pollution, so they’re fitted and snug and appropriate to block out micro particles that can get deep in your lungs,” Allada said. They’re also considerably more impressive looking than whatever you buy in bulk at your local grocery store. Allada cautioned elderly people, children, pregnant women and anyone with lung disease to stay inside as much as possible. He pointed out that strenuous exercises such as running or intense hiking – popular activities in the Pacific Northwest – lead to people taking faster, deeper breaths. “People who live here in the Pacific Northwest, we love the outdoors,” Bosisio said. “This is what we really live for – we put up with the rain, wet and cold for these three glorious months. When smoke takes that way from us, it’s just not cool.” Pregnant women must be especially mindful. In a variety of observational studies, Allada said expectant mothers who were regularly exposed to poor air quality had a tendency to give birth to children who were underweight, premature and sometimes had “increased incidents of asthma.” “When government organizations say it’s bad air quality, those are times that people need to listen and stay indoors,” Allada said. Fortunately, it’s easy to stay in the know. You can download the Air Quality Index app to your phone, and readings are regularly updated on state websites. Flynt at Oregon DEQ said there are ongoing conversations about if DEQ should move its monitors to new locations to get better data for the public. “We’re often telling people, it can be bad one minute and OK the next, so you need to check conditions regularly,” Flynt said. If someone doesn’t have access to a computer or smartphone, she recommends using the 5-3-1 rule: if you can see well over five miles in the distance, the air quality is generally good. If visibility is less than three miles, it’s usually unhealthy, and likely deteriorating. If visibility is less than one mile, just stay inside. For those interested in comparing Mother Nature’s air quality to cigarette consequences, there’s the app, “S***! I Smoke,” which uses live pollution data to calculate the equivalent number of cigarettes one has “smoked” by breathing in bad air.<doc-sep>Western Washington was under an air quality alert on Monday as smoke from wildfires around the region piled up after a shift in winds Sunday. With air ranging from unhealthy for sensitive groups to just plain unhealthy around the Seattle area, people have been scrambling to find ways to cope with the hazy, smoky air that eventually can lead to a range of symptoms including irritated eyes, nose, throat and lungs -- and worse for those with existing respiratory or other conditions. RELATED: When will this smoke clear out of Western Washington? But across the Cascades to the east, communities have been dealing with much worse conditions. Air monitoring sites near the two largest fires in the state -- the Cougar Creek Fire, in the Entiat River Valley south of Lake Chelan and the Crescent Mountain Fire north of Lake Chelan and south of Mazama -- remained in the hazardous range Monday morning, with an forecast that increased winds would at least partially clear the air Monday and Tuesday. Farther east, near other wildfires, communities saw similar conditions. For days, even weeks, many of those communities have dealt with far worse air pollution from wildfires near and far. In hazardous air conditions, people are advised not just to avoid exertion -- they are advised to stay indoors as much as possible. On Sunday, Twisp, in Methow Valley, saw air quality dip from unhealthy to hazardous in just a few hours. Chelan was bathed in hazardous air almost the entire day. Smoke from nearby fires may have made things worse in Central Washington, but smoke from British Columbia fires has fed into much of Washington. RELATED: Wildfires blazing across Washington, fire risk high on Monday Smoky skies have historically been relatively rare in Western Washington, where west winds coming off the Pacific Ocean regularly work to refresh the air. In recent years, however, prolonged high pressure systems have acted like a lid for the region, nearly halting movement of air and keeping smoke close to the ground. East of the Cascades, however, the onshore flows have less potency and often do much less to disperse smokey skies. Smoke settles into valleys and river bottoms and may not clear as readily. This week, however, the onshore flows are expected to start clearing things out at least a bit by Thursday for Central and Eastern Washington. The relief will no doubt be welcome for folks who have endured very bad air these past weeks. Senior editor Daniel DeMay can be reached at 206-448-8362 or danieldemay@seattlepi.com. Follow him on Twitter: @Daniel_DeMay.<doc-sep>
Seattle: Professor claims smokey air quality is 'the new normal' The current Air Quality Index (AQI) has classified the Seattle air as “unhealthy” with a rating of 181. An AQI of 150 equals smoking seven cigarettes in one day. In parts of the northwestern US city, the index rose as high as 220, which is classified as “very unhealthy.” Monday August 20th’s air quality was recorded as the worst this century, after winds from the north and northeast brought wildfire smoke back into the region on Sunday. Forecasters have said winds Tuesday may help thin the smoke out, but it is still not clear when the air quality will improve. Is the air in Seattle safe? The forecast levels will stay at “unhealthy for sensitive groups” through Wednesday, and residents are urged to keep themselves updated on the forecast as conditions may change according to AirNow. The poor air can affect people’s health with both short and long-term effects. Seattle air quality: The Air Quality Index has classified the Seattle air as 'unhealthy' Seattle air quality: On August 15 the air quality in Seattle was worse than Beijing Children, seniors, pregnant women and people with vascular and respiratory illnesses are particularly affected. On 15 August the air quality was worse than Beijing, one of the world’s most polluted cities. The health message from Breezometer, which provides air quality data online says: - Reduce long or intense outdoor activities. - Take more breaks. - Sensitive people: Avoid long or intense outdoor activities, or consider moving them indoors. The smoke has also caused delays at Seattle’s main airport, Sea-Tac because of poor visibility. The bad air quality is due to the recent wildfires that have been raging through the country. The poor air in Seattle is mostly due to wildfires in British Columbia, raging 500 miles away. Andrew Wineke, a spokesman for the state of Washington’s Ecology Department’s air quality program, told Q13 Fox: “The trend is clear. You see the number of forest fires increasing, and so there’s going to be wildfires. “There’s going to be smoke. It’s going to be somewhere.” Denver air quality: Cities across the US are experiencing bad air quality due to the wildfires