Your eyes and nose are not deceiving you; the skies are pretty gnarly on Monday, with Salt Lake City currently holding the distinction of having the worst air quality in the entire U.S.
REAL-TIME AIR QUALITY: Click here to see air quality readings for your neighborhood with AirView
While it holds the top spot in the country with an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 105, Salt Lake City is only ranked 33rd overall in the world as of 3 p.m., far behind Delhi, which has a whopping AQI of 546.
According to IQAir, which powers the air quality rankings, Salt Lake City's is "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups," which means children, the elderly, pregnant women and those with cardiac or pulmonary diseases should monitor how much time they spend outside.
Live video of Salt Lake City skyline shows poor air quality conditions:
The designation is expected to remain in place on Tuesday and possibly through the remainder of the week, as the inversion strengthens and takes air quality down with it.
Damon Yauney explains the current inversion condition and when relief may come:
The rainy start to the new year, which kept the inversion away from the northern valleys, was replaced by a recent ridge of high pressure that created the situation where much of northern Utah sees itself. Cold temperatures will remain in the valleys this week due to the layer of warmer air that remains on top due to inversion conditions.
Relief is forecast to come by the end of the week, thanks to a storm front that is expected to brush by the area and take the inversion and its hazy air with it.
