Living in wildfire smoke is hellish. Gone is the fresh air, blue sky and shiny, bright sun we're used to waking up to, replaced by a thick, foul smelling grey environment with an orange 'sun' struggling to shine through.
When you open your car or home windows for fresh air, you get the smoke. When you turn on the AC, you're sucking the smoke in with the air. If the Air Quality Index is at 10+, which it has frequently been where I live, you can still go outdoors but at your own risk. Otherwise, you stay indoors with the windows and doors shut, fans and air purifiers humming. It's a boding of the times we live in and those to come. In addition to this inconvenience, summer pollution and wildfire smoke can seriously impact your health and well being.
Nevertheless, I still take a daily morning bike ride but always check my local AQI prior to heading out. I also sport an N-95 protective face mask and other gear to shield me from the harmful gases, particles and water vapor contained in the wildfire smoke. These morning photos I recently snapped illustrate the shocking difference: life in apocalyptic smoke v. live in nature's fresh air.
No comments:
Post a Comment