Air quality is unhealthy, even hazardous, in parts of Portland metro

The air is bad out there.

Weather conditions in the Portland area Tuesday morning are trapping particulate matter in the lower atmosphere, with the air quality now at the “unhealthy” and even “hazardous” levels, according to various monitors around the metro area.

Portlanders should close their windows and consider forgoing outdoor exercise or other strenuous outdoor activity. Indeed, they might want to keep any outdoor time short until the air improves.

The air quality hasn’t been good in the Portland-Vancouver area for much of the past week, thanks to wildfires in Washington state and unseasonably warm autumn temperatures. But it’s mostly fallen into the “moderate” range, with only a few brief dips into “unhealthy” territory.

Take heart, the air soon might improve, and not just because firefighters are working hard to bring the region’s wildfires under control. Rain is finally expected to hit Portland Friday night – possibly quite a bit – and another system is coming in right behind it.

You can monitor air quality in your area at AirNow.

— Douglas Perry; [email protected]