Friday, September 18, 2020

Slow improvement still happening, plus more data showing WA population exposed to smoke

Forecast update

The Olympic Peninsula has pretty much cleared out now, and several Puget Sound area sites are trending downward. Rain is helping a bit, but the weakening inversion is helping most. Still on track to see mostly Good to Moderate air in western WA by tomorrow

Just for kicks, take a look at how some sites in the Olympic Peninsula responded yesterday when a low pressure system offshore initially helped ventilate the area and then dragged in smoke from Oregon fires. Who said smoke dynamics aren't complex!


Most monitors in eastern WA have been pretty static today (read: Unhealthy to Very Unhealthy air) but cross Cascade winds are starting to pick up and will eventually make their way into the Columbia Basin overnight. Eastern WA will start seeing seeing improvements on Saturday, reaching Good to Moderate by Sunday

We're nearly theredone for now. Don't be fatigued with the health precautions.

FYI, Ecology's air monitor in Yakima will be taken offline later today due to renovations happening at the host facility. But our staff proactively installed a temporary monitor in Union Gap, so there is no gap (no pun intended, honest!) in data coverage. Data should start appearing on the above map very soon. 

Population exposed to smoke (written by Ecology's Andrew Wineke)

As an agency dedicated to protecting air quality in our state, we’ve been trying to wrap our minds around not just what the numbers are this hour, but what the longer impacts of this kind of smoke storm may be. 

As we’ve moved from one record-poor air quality day to the next, we’ve shared some charts and analyses as we work through those questions. One important takeaway is that more Washington communities have been exposed to more hazardous levels of particulate pollution than we’ve ever seen since we began monitoring for PM2.5 (the most concerning type of particulate pollution found in wildfire smoke) back in the early 2000s.

Geographic extent is just one way to look at it, though. Sometimes, we have quite serious wildfires that don’t affect many people – either because of helpful weather patterns that blow the smoke away, or simply because they are burning in thinly populated regions.

Ecology researcher Beth Friedman looked at how many Washingtonians have been exposed to extended periods of unhealthy air, compared to other recent smoke events. Looking at the smoke exposures this way helps us contrast this year’s smoke storm with other major events like 2018, where smoke from Canadian wildfires bathed much of our state with a longer period of less-intense air pollution. 

So how does 2020 measure up when we account for populations in smoke- impacted areas? It may not surprise you that 2020 is a stinker: The number of people exposed to very unhealthy or worse air quality for a week or more is practically off the charts compared to 2018, 2017, or 2015. 

Or if you want to include the Unhealthy category in the comparison:

Clearly, this has been an incredibly bad week for Washington’s biggest cities – and it hasn’t been a walk in the park for our less populated areas, either. 

24 comments:

  1. Heavy rain in Edmonds right now. Feel like dancing!

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  2. Nice hard rainstorm here in La Center at 4pm. More rain tonight. Happy Dance for the rain! The numbers still showing "moderate" for sensitive types though, so I will wait to tomorrow to openwindows or go out to the stores. Thank you so much for this daily update, it has been a huge help.

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  3. Looks like it's still too early to open windows to cool off in Edmonds--Lynnwood. Or run around in the rain!

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  4. Thank you for all your work keeping us informed. I'm so glad relief is finally here. This week has made me extremely grateful for fresh air and I feel terrible for all the people around the world who live in extremely polluted cities where this kind of air is the norm. Long live the Clean Air Act!

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    1. Alec C
      I feel exactly the same way. It was a sobering wake up call for all us to never take fresh air for granted again.

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  5. Thank you for the regular updates and clear information. It's very much appreciated. Rain (and thunderstorms) here in SW Washington, and it's been nice as the day goes on to see color emerge and be able to see Oregon across the river again.

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  6. Thank you so much for your information every day. As a person with asthma, I depended on your site for accurate information. You all rock.

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  7. Is Issaquah Highlands Moderate or Unhealthy right now? Also, is it safe to open the windows when it is in the Moderate range?

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    1. Anonymous

      Of course I can't answer for the moderators, lol, but in case they don't get back to your comment, I would suggest the answer to your question is likely "no", because if you can still smell some smoke, it is still somewhat unhealthy.
      I probably could have chanced it yesterday afternoon, but decided not to. By 11pm though I opened the windows, and WOWEE what a glorious surprise, to smell fresh, clean air.
      I think "moderate" air means "unhealthy for some sensitive types".

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  8. Rain, thunder and lightning in Federal Way...
    ... and it looks like air quality here dropped from "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" to "Moderate" in half an hour!

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  9. When will it be OK to open our windows? I want to air out the house and only have one air purifier that we’ve been using just in the bedroom. It’s moderate where we are and on track to be moderate tomorrow. Should we wait until good?

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  10. RAIN! SWEET WET WONDERFUL RAIN!
    🌧🌧🌧🌧🌧🌧🌧🌧🌧🌧🌧🌧🌧🌧🌧🌧

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  11. Just the thing I was looking for, good news! Thanks! #WeGotThisWA 😷

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  12. As always, thank you for keeping us well- informed. Hard to find much info on longterm health-effects. Two recent articles that have more info than most:
    www.bozemandailychronicle.com/ap_news/montana/wildfire-smoke-leaves-lung-damage-long-after-air-clears/article_16f273e3-da94-58f4-ba3d-ce2d7e3143b8.amp.html

    https://www.oregonlive.com/wildfires/2020/09/what-are-the-long-term-health-problems-caused-by-exposure-to-wildfire-smoke-the-data-doesnt-exist-yet.html

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  13. HI Ranil! Thank you so much for all this great info. I feel like lots of people pointed out when you all predicted things would clear up last weekend and they didn't, so I think it's important to point out that you predicted it would clear up in Western Washington Friday and Saturday like 5 or 6 days ago and that held true. I've become a HUGE weather geek these last two weeks (thanks in no small part to your blog updates), and what you all do to predict when smoke will come and go is clearly a mixture of both science and intuition. Thank you, thank you. To those in Eastern Washington, I hope your air clears up soon, too.

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  14. Received rain in Walla Walla early this morning and cleared the air tremendously. Currently 61 on local meter but will take it from earlier this week.

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  15. I'm almost giddy today; I can breathe without coughing! I have the WINDOW OPEN.

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  16. Do you have a long term forecast on whether we're out of the woods this season on wildfire smoke? We're in Vancouver, WA, and are just coming out of all our AQI 400-500+ air. We're trying to figure out if we're done for the season, or if we should be scrambling to better prepare ourselves with heavy duty air scrubbers for the next air emergency coming in the next few days or weeks. The fires themselves are still burning, right? Thank you!

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    1. Pollywog, good question and yes the fires are still burning but not as smoky as they were. The all-enveloping event we just came out of requires many things to gang up on you in the right sequence and there is no indication that we're setting up for such a prolonged episode again. The more into fall you get, the less likely that those conditions can redevelop. It doesnt preclude smoke from afar reaching you, but sticking around in such harrowing concentrations for so long is unlikely.

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    2. Thank you for you timely and clear, response! Really appreciate it!

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  17. it's been lovely to have the windows open today and hear the rain come down. thanks again for all the information you've provided about the forecasts, and answering so many questions. I hope you all are having a well-deserved rest.

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  18. Ranil, I wanted to thank you for all of the information you and the others have provided. Your honesty and sense of humor were very refreshing during this event. Hopefully the rain forecasted for this week will make its way to the Tri Cities!

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  19. The smoke is returning. Very hazy and smells like campfires in Vancouver as of 12 noon, Monday, September 21 :(((

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    1. Yucky :( I thought I was imagining it - or hoped I was - when I opened windows at 11am this morning, in La Center. But I have been able to keep windows open all day because it was mild enough that I did not smell it in the house. I convinced myself that it was some damn fool neighbor with a burn pile they had lit. It didn't amount to much and it smells clear again at 7pm.

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