air quality

This city has the worst air quality in the Nation. A Montana City.

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.

Many counties across Montana are reporting hazardous air quality today. If you're sensitive to smoke, the best bet is to stay indoors with your windows closed.

It's gorgeous, but it's smoky in Big Sky this week. It's been at unhealthy levels off and on for weeks now. Air Quality Index numbers have been hovering in the 120s.

Yellowstone National Park, along with most counties in western Wyoming are still dealing with unhealthy air quality. The air quality index for YNP has been hovering around 100 which is "unhealthy for sensitive groups".

A couple of air quality monitoring stations around Billings had readings in the "unhealthy" range on Monday (7/26), and with a high concentration of pollutants expected to continue from western wildfires, being outdoors will make it hazardous for some groups this week.

When you're deciding whether to go outside, is the air dangerous?

Large cities are seeing less smog during the coronavirus pandemic's travel restrictions, but Montana's air isn't seeing any significant improvement.

The report is under scientific review and is expected to be made available to the city once completed.

The smoke has drifted into Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington state and Wyoming.