Spokane-area residents breathed healthier air this past summer than in the previous eight summers due to the lack of prolonged, widespread smoke from wildfires.

Mark Rowe, air quality monitoring manager at Spokane Clean Air, credits Spokane’s relatively good air quality this summer to a couple of key factors.

”Washington had a fairly mild wildfire year and wind patterns worked in our favor. Wildfire activity in Oregon and southern and central Idaho, on the other hand, was above average this summer. Smoke from regional wildfires, including the Pioneer and Swawilla fires in Washington – the most significant with regards to Spokane’s air quality this summer, was for the most part steered away from Spokane or remained aloft,” explained Rowe.

Spokane’s highest summer PM2.5 (fine smoke particles) 24-hour average was 82/Moderate on the Air Quality Index (AQI), which occurred on August 3rd. A 24-hour average AQI over 100 fails the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for fine particle pollution. 

In addition to PM2.5, summer air quality can be affected by ozone pollution. Ozone was the pollutant with the highest concentration of the summer, reaching 100/Moderate AQI on July 14th. This was just under ozone’s 8-hour average standard of .0700 parts per billion. Ozone is formed photochemically in the atmosphere and peaks on the hottest, calmest afternoons of summer. 

“Overall, we experienced a good summer air quality-wise, compared to the past several years. We know that next year may be a different story altogether,” added Rowe.

If you are interested in viewing air quality monthly data reports, go here.