Northwest’s air is among the worst in the world as an end to Whatcom’s dry spell nears
Air quality across Whatcom County remained mostly in the unhealthy range and the Puget Sound region had some of the most polluted skies in the world Thursday, Oct. 20, as fog and wildfire smoke was taking its time clearing out.
Bellingham and the Kendall area had readings in the unhealthy range early Thursday, but levels near Lynden dropped to levels considered unhealthy for those with respiratory illnesses and others who are sensitive to smoke, according to data from the Northwest Clean Air Agency.
Across Western Washington, air quality readings ranged from moderate to very unhealthy, and the website IQ Air showed Seattle with an air quality index of 263 on Thursday morning, second only to Delhi.
Bellingham schools were keeping students indoors for recess and officials urged everyone to limit their time outside or wear respiratory protection such as N-95 masks.
Morning mist coupled with smoke reduced visibility to a little more than a mile at 9 a.m. Thursday.
A trace of rain was recorded early Thursday, and more was on the way as a pair of storms approached Western Washington from the north.
An air quality alert was set to expire at 5 p.m. Thursday, as those storms were set to drop up to 1.5 inches of rain over the weekend — more rain than has fallen in Bellingham over a four-month period, according to forecasts.
This story was originally published October 20, 2022 at 10:01 AM.
