Utah’s smoky air is unhealthy to breathe

Salt Lake City, Utah —  The yellow-gray sky and smokey air are unhealthy to breathe.

According to Dr. Dixie Harris, a pulmonologist with Intermountain Health Care, the combination of hot temperatures and high ozone levels is burning our lungs.

“There’s also a lot of ash and debris in the smoke,” said Dr. Harris. “It’s all coming into your lungs, that your lungs are trying to get rid of.”

According to meteorologist, Grant Weyman, most of the smoke is coming from two massive wildfires — one in Oregon and another in California.  And it will most likely get worse before it gets better in the next few days.  That’s because the smoke is blowing in from winds higher up in the atmosphere.

Currently, the air quality across Northern Utah is listed as unhealthy for sensitive groups. So, people with heart disease, asthma, and heart conditions need to be very careful.  According to Dr. Harris “people who had COVID-19, even if they weren’t in the hospital, can have some lung damage they might not be aware of.”

Doctors are warning against doing any type of strenuous exercise outside.  Even those with healthy lungs are being advised not to go outside and expose their lungs to the smokey air.