DENVER — For the second-consecutive day, the air quality in Denver is among the worst in the world.
Wildfire smoke from wildfires in Canada and the Pacific Northwest continues to impact several states including Colorado on Wednesday.
Denver's air quality on Tuesday and Wednesday has been ranked as the worst in the United States.
As of 9 a.m. Wednesday, Denver had the 10th worst air quality among major cities globally.
The only countries with worse air quality than Denver on Wednesday are cities in Pakistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Indonesia, India, South Africa, Kenya and Chile, according to IQ Air.
Air Quality Alerts
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) has again issued Air Quality Alerts across Colorado, including Douglas, Jefferson, Denver, western Arapahoe, western Adams, Broomfield, Boulder, Larimer, and Weld Counties, until 4 p.m. Wednesday.
As more smoke enters Colorado, it is advised to limit time outdoors, especially for those with heart disease, respiratory illness, the very young and the elderly. The public is advised to try and limit that time outdoors and check real-time air quality here.
CDPHE said warm and stagnant weather, combined with increasing amounts of out-of-state wildfire smoke, has resulted in ozone and fine particulate matter concentrations to possibly reach unhealthy levels for air quality.
Relief from the smoke?
The National Weather Service in Boulder said the thick wildfire smoke will remain over Colorado on Wednesday. The agency said it is hopeful for "some" thinning on Thursday.
The 9NEWS Weather Impact Team said the wildfire smoke will improve more on Friday for the Front Range, Denver metro area and across Colorado.
By Friday, some Pacific moisture will stream in along with a weak system, kicking off some widespread mountain showers and storms, with a few possible in the Denver area.
Next week, Colorado will move into a prolonged hot and dry stretch, with 90s likely every day through the rest of the month and probably into August.
