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Air Quality in the West

When the skies are orange it is a bad omen.

An Air Quality Advisory was issued by the National Weather Service for Western Washington for the weekend of September 12-13. The advisory states that due to smoke in the air from Oregon, that even healthy people could be impacted by particulates in the air.

It states, "As most are aware, the region will experience poorest air quality in 2 years over this weekend.  Smoke from Oregon will result in visibility of ¼ mile or less at times starting this evening into early Saturday morning.  The latest forecast call for unhealthy conditions to persist for at least the next 48 hours.  These conditions will be dangerous for even healthy individuals if they are subjected to an extended exposure outside.   Those with underlying conditions will be most at risk due to the air quality.  

When people talk about climate change and making our planet uninhabitable, this is but one example for what the future might hold. 

 

 

Eric Holdeman is a contributing writer for Emergency Management magazine and is the former director of the King County, Wash., Office of Emergency Management.