MISSOULA — Fire season smoke is not the only thing that impacts Missoula’s air quality. Winter weather of high pressure systems, light winds and cold temperatures can trap pollutants in our valleys, as we are seeing now.
Missoula is under an Air Stagnation Advisory until Friday.
“Here in Missoula, we're really lucky. We're blessed with this beautiful topography of mountains and valleys and peaks, but that definitely makes air quality a little tricky, especially when we get into wintertime,” said Taylor Schaeffer, an air quality specialist with Missoula Public Health.
The term “inversion” gets thrown around, but what exactly does it mean for Missoula’s air?
“The cold air sinks into our valley bowl, the warm air rises and then the high pressure atop the warm air really keeps the warm air down on us, like a lid on that bowl of cold air,” she said. “The pollutants don't get a chance to escape or mix and we just wind up breathing them in all the time.”
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Inside that bowl of cold air is all of us and the air we breathe.
“Because we live in valleys, because we have these temperature inversions and because we have a lot of wood burning in our area, especially in the more rural parts of Western Montana, that all contributes to really bad air pollution during winter days,” said Tony Ward, a professor at The University of Montana’s School of Public and Community Health Sciences.
It’s not just stoves too, the stale air traps pollution from cars and industry and all sorts of things. Breathing that in can have a big impact on health, especially for kids, older people and those with other underlying conditions.
“Some of the more common things are problems with breathing, so respiratory problems, or even problems with heart disease,” Ward said. “Something as immediate as you go outside and your eyes start to that water or you start sneezing because you're exposed to air pollution. A good example is like when you're breathing a lot of smoke during a forest fire event.”
But, these pollutants are not just a problem outside. Ward said air quality can often be just as bad or even worse indoors.
“We kind of overlook the fact that even though we're indoors, that doesn't necessarily mean that we're breathing in the cleanest air,” Ward said. “Any time you cook or clean or vacuum or sweep or lighting a candle, those are all sources of air pollution within our homes.”
The air quality can worsen from inside things that linger, or from outside pollutants that get trapped. In winter, so much of our day happens inside. Many spend more than 90% of their daily life indoors, according to Ward. This is also not limited to homes, but anywhere we spend time.
“That can be really detrimental to people's health if they're inhaling polluted air for 8 hours a day in their office,” Schaeffer said. “The trick with outdoor vs. indoor air quality is making sure that there is good mixing. If there's bad stuff on the outside, it doesn't come on the inside. But if there's bad stuff on the inside, it has to be able to get out and we need fresh air in the indoor space.”
Missoula Public Health monitors and works to improve air quality, but there are steps people can all take to protect themselves and their air. Both Schaeffer and Ward have plenty of recommendations, including checking updated air quality data on AirNow.gov, running air filters indoors, trying to idle cars less, burn wood stoves at a minimum and limiting time outdoors when the air is unhealthy.
“Exercise indoors,” Schaeffer said. “I know this time of year people wanna be out cross-country skiing and doing whatnot but, if you can stay inside to exercise, you're not inhaling those pollutants. It's a good time to try something new like a dance class or a yoga class from YouTube.”
