air quality

Wildfire smoke from Canada, and the smoke from fires within Montana dropped the Air Quality Index (AQI) in parts of Montana by dozens of points on Wednesday. Thursday isn't looking too promising either with Air Quality Alerts and Heat Advisories in effect for large portions of the state.

Very unhealthy air is blowing into Montana from Canada, with Dense Smoke Advisories being issued on Wednesday for several counties in northeast Montana.

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.

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

It's quite obvious that Montana's air quality is currently terrible. Dozens of counties with high particulate levels are now under an Air Quality Alert until further notice.

You can see it with your own eyes. The air quality around the state continues to be very poor and hazardous in certain counties. Montana wildfires continue to burn with no significant rain in sight.

The smoke in some places was so thick it was difficult to breathe.

The Department of Environmental Quality has extended our Air Quality Alert due to heavy smoke from the many Montana wildfires that continue to burn.

The valleys of Montana are susceptible to temperature inversions which we're experiencing now. These inversions essentially trap particulates in the valleys, causing poor air quality.

Colder temperatures and rain are in the forecast but area wildfires are wreaking havoc on the air quality around West Yellowstone this weekend.