Portland ranks worst air quality worldwide

Portland was ranked the worst major city in the world for air quality on Wednesday morning, according to IQAir, as wildfire smoke from fires in Oregon and Washington settled over the city. KOIN reported that Portland reached an AQI reading of 159, while OPB reported the city’s average AQI was 160 at 7 a.m. Wednesday. The smoke pushed conditions into the “unhealthy” range and prompted local program cancellations, health warnings and travel concerns across the Pacific Northwest. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality said its air quality advisory for much of the state was expected to remain in effect until 10 p.m. Thursday, August 6. ### How did Portland end up at the top of IQAir’s rankings? IQAir listed Portland as the worst in the world at one point Wednesday morning among the roughly 120 major cities it tracks, OPB reported. KOIN said Portland had first entered the top 10 on Tuesday, then moved above Delhi and Kuwait City on Wednesday as smoke thickened over the metro area. (koin.com) By 10 a.m. Wednesday, OPB said Portland had fallen to fifth in the ranking, not because local air improved, but because conditions worsened in four other cities. KOIN later updated its report to say Portland had moved down to eighth worldwide while still holding the worst air quality reading in the United States. (opb.org) ### Which fires were driving the smoke over Portland? KOIN said much of Portland’s smoke was tied to the Grasshopper Fire burning east of Mount Hood. The station also said the Willamette Valley smoke was linked to both that fire and the roughly 2 million acres burned in Oregon so far this wildfire season. OPB reported that firefighters were battling wildfires burning more than 2 million acres across Oregon and that most of the state was expected to remain under smoky conditions through at least Wednesday night. (opb.org) In areas closer to major fires, conditions were far worse than in Portland: OPB said Prineville was at a “very unhealthy” AQI of 200 on Wednesday morning, while a monitor in Post, Oregon, registered a “hazardous” 460. (koin.com) ### What did the smoke change in Portland itself? Portland Parks & Recreation closed pools for all activities on Wednesday and canceled Free Lunch + Play sites and Fitness in the Park classes, KOIN reported. Those steps came as smoke and heat combined to limit outdoor activity across the city. KOIN meteorologist Kelley Bayern said air quality was expected to stay “at or near unhealthy levels” on Wednesday. (opb.org) KATU reported that relief was expected by Friday as marine air and westerly winds gradually thinned smoke over western Oregon. ### Who was being told to take extra precautions? Multnomah County said on August 5 that smoke from fires in Oregon and Washington had entered the county on Monday afternoon and was expected to continue affecting the area. (koin.com) The county said most of Multnomah County was expected to see “orange” AQI conditions, or unhealthy for sensitive groups, while parts of East Multnomah County could reach “red,” or unhealthy for everyone, because of their proximity to the Grasshopper fire. The county said the combination of wildfire smoke and extreme heat was especially dangerous for young children playing outside or attending summer camps. It advised residents to watch for respiratory symptoms including dry cough, sore throat, difficulty breathing and chest pain, and said 211info was available around the clock for wildfire, clean-air and shelter information. (multco.us) ### How bad was the smoke elsewhere in the region? The National Weather Service warned that air quality would reach unhealthy levels over the next couple of days as wildfires continued to burn across Oregon, OPB reported. KOIN said the state advisory covered the Portland metro area, Salem, Medford-Ashland, Hermiston and Ontario. (multco.us) Multnomah County directed residents to keep tracking conditions because smoke can change quickly. The DEQ advisory was scheduled to last until 10 p.m. on Thursday, August 6, and KOIN and KATU both reported that cleaner air was expected to begin arriving by Friday. (multco.us) (opb.org)