DENVER, Colo. — Air quality advisories have been issued in the southwestern region of Colorado due to smoke from nearby wildfires, causing poor air quality.
Although smoky conditions and high ozone days are typical this time of year across the state, medical specialists say to keep your health in mind while exercising or recreating outdoors this summer.
Dr. Anthony Gerber, a pulmonologist with National Jewish Health, said people with pre-existing conditions, lung disease, or asthma can be more sensitive to poor air quality.
"A lot of my patients don't like coming into Denver in the summer because of the air quality," said Dr. Gerber. "You're your best own judge of how sensitive you are to the air quality. So if you're out there and you're noticing I just can't exercise, I'm getting short of breath, I'm getting chest pain, that's probably a sign to maybe move inside or to not exercise that day."
Gerber said even if you consider yourself to be healthy and active, you're not necessarily immune to the effects of poor air quality.
"We tend to think that if it's just one or two days of breathing slightly bad air quality, that there might not be that many long-term effects," he said. "Unfortunately, with wildfire smoke, you can get two, three, four weeks on end, and the summer can have six or eight weeks, maybe, with bad air quality. And in that setting, if that happens over and over again, we do worry about people and kids growing up with reduced lung function."
Antonio Roldan, a Houston resident, was with his family at Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre on Friday afternoon, enjoying the outdoors. He said the air quality is not something he normally pays attention to, but said he will keep it in mind during his vacation to Colorado.
- The GIF below shows how smoke will move across Colorado over the next 48 hours
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) issued an air quality health advisory for wildfire smoke for dozens of counties in Southwest Colorado on Friday. The advisory lasts until 9 a.m. on Saturday.
Residents are urged to remain indoors if smoke becomes thick in their neighborhood.
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