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Siskiyou Velo

Southern Oregon's Premier Cycling Club

Air Quality - Fire Season

by Gary Shaff on Aug, 1 2015

There is little doubt that fire season has arrived in the Pacific Northwest.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) maintains air quality monitoring stations throughout the State, several of which are in Southern Oregon. These collect current air quality data at the monitoring site and are reported based upon an Air Quality Index (AQI) and are posted here. Smoke forecasts are available at Oregon Smoke Information.

DEQ reminds us that “local smoke levels can rise and fall rapidly, depending on weather factors including wind direction. People can conduct a visual assessment of smoke levels to quickly get a sense of air quality and take precautions.” This link details the relationship between visibility and air quality.

An article by Ben Greenfield entitled Exercise and Air Pollution provides food for thought and may help you to understand the implications of cycling (or doing other forms of outdoor exercise) during air stagnation events.

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