Is that fog or smog over downtown? Here’s what’s up with Kansas City’s air quality

Natalie Wallington
·2 min read

Wildfire smoke from Canada has moved into Kansas City on the heels of recent rainstorms, causing air quality in the metro to become unhealthy for sensitive groups.

Tiny particles made up the majority of the air pollution Tuesday Older adults, minors and those with heart or lung diseases are advised to avoid strenuous outdoor activity.

Kansas City’s air quality index was 138 around 10 a.m., according to the government air quality tracking site AirNow.gov. That’s on the higher end of its category — an index of 151 or above indicates unhealthy air for all groups, including healthy adults.

“The smoke is basically moving in on the back side of this rain system that we’re experiencing today,” Kansas City meteorologist Brent Pesel told The Star. “With the way the weather pattern is, those winds are coming out of the north, so it does pull that smoke down towards us.”

Pesel added that rainfall can help tamp down smoky conditions, reducing the particles in the air along with any smell of wildfire.

Last year, the metro saw hazy conditions throughout the summer for a variety of reasons, including smoke from far-away fires and ground-level ozone, also known as smog, caused by human emissions.

While Pesel doesn’t foresee a repeat of those conditions this year, it’s hard to know exactly where wildfires will crop up — or which way the wind will turn.

“It’s not uncommon for smoke to get pushed around the country by upper-level (air) flow,” he said. “You’ll probably see some vivid colors in the sky as the sun rises and sets and the light bounces off the smoke particles.”

Tuesday’s hazy conditions may linger through the rest of the week, but Pesel doesn’t anticipate the air quality in the coming days will be as poor as today.

“As we go through the week, those winds are going to turn to be a little bit more directly out of the west, so we probably won’t have as much smoke,” he said.

Do you have more questions about air quality in Kansas City? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com.