Seattle currently has the world's worst air quality as wildfires burn across Washington
Seattle, Washington, had the worst air pollution in the world on Thursday, according to Swiss air quality technology company IQAir, ranking higher than cities that are known for their poor air quality, like Beijing, Kuwait City and Wuhan. The U.S. city has been suffering from smoke and smog as wildfires continue to burn in Washington state.
On the same day that the report was released, Seattle's Puget Sound Clean Air Agency urged residents to stay indoors due to unhealthy air quality levels caused by wildfire smoke.
"Conditions are UNHEALTHY to VERY UNHEALTHY across the Puget Sound region & will likely remain until tomorrow," the agency tweeted on Thursday. "Everyone should take precautions to protect their health. Stay indoors if possible."
For a time on Thursday, Portland, Oregon, ranked as the city with the second-worst air quality in the world. However, by 3:40 p.m. EDT it had dropped to third, behind Delhi, India.
In September, 18 large fires in Oregon and Washington state — powered by dry and windy conditions — led to evacuations and targeted power outages.
Currently, most of the smoke in Seattle is due to the Bolt Creek Fire, which has burned through nearly 15,000 acres since it started on Sept. 10 and is 43% contained, according to the latest report from the National Wildfire Coordinating Group's Incident Information System.
Meanwhile, the Nakia Creek Fire continues to spread in Washington near the Oregon border. It has burned 1,918 acres and remains 23% contained, according to the National Wildfire Coordinating Group's Incident Information System. The blaze, which forced thousands of people to evacuate, was fueled by unusually warm weather conditions in the Pacific Northwest, according to the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.
As of Wednesday, better weather conditions led to improved visibility and allowed aircrafts to aid in suppressing the fire, fire officials said.