During the past week, the California wildfires have left the air quality a bit lacking. Even though I am not in an area threatened by wildfires, I have seen their toll on my immediate surroundings. I have smelled a smoky odor on and off during the past few days and the skies have been quite hazy. Usually, I don’t hear an air quality report unless I am listening to the radio in the car. However, since I am trying to bike to work nowadays, I have to look elsewhere.

If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District has a Spare the Air web site that provides a Bay Area Five Day Air Quality Forecast in an easily readable form. You will have to read the Air Quality Index page to decipher their numbers and color coding. For air quality in other areas, AIRNow offers national forecasts and conditions. Here’s a link to the California Air Quality Conditions and Forecasts page.