DENVER — For the third straight day, Denver's air quality on Monday ranked among the worst in the world.
According to air quality tracking website IQAir, Denver's air quality on Monday afternoon ranked as the second-worst among major cities, trailing only Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia for the worst air quality among any major city on Earth.
A secondary blast of wildfire smoke enveloped Denver and much of Colorado on Monday, reinforcing the city's and state's exceptionally smoky skies. Denver's air quality index hovered between 120 and 140 through much of Monday, which is about four times the exposure level recommended by the World Health Organization.
IQAir tracks air quality among what they describe as 'major cities,' compiled from a list of 80,000 different air quality sensors around the world.
While the ranking is considered to be among 'major cities,' there are inevitably some smaller and/or cities close to other major cities that may not be taken into account. In other words, this is meant as a general list.
Additionally, there are undoubtedly small towns and sparsely populated areas right next to wildfires that are experiencing worse air quality than Denver.
No matter, there's no doubting the air quality in Denver on Monday was atrocious. It'll stay lousy through Tuesday morning, thanks to another plume of smoke from fires in the Pacific Northwest.
> Listen to an interview with 9Health expert Dr. Payal Kohli below explain the short and long-term impacts of breathing in bad air conditions in the Denver metro area.
By Tuesday evening, wildfire smoke will likely slowly start to let up a bit, with slightly improved conditions on Wednesday and Thursday. However, air quality will still remain extremely poor, with some slightly improved conditions not expected until the upcoming weekend, at the earliest.