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The D.C. region is under a code purple air quality alert. Here’s what to know 45%
By Sarahkim0%
7/17/2026, 5:57:16 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 15 faulty reasoning types, including Anecdotal, Indoctrination, and Optimism Bias, with Ambiguity (Equivocation) as the most egregious example at 10.6% saturation with 54 hits. Analysis detected 462 faulty-reasoning hits from 511 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 47.5% and a BS Rank of 45% (11,837 of 21,203 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 55.80% of the article peer group.
The D.C. region is under a code purple air quality alert.
Here’s what to know
Zach Kombet was looking forward to going to the zoo in D.C. with his nieces and nephew Friday.
Then they woke up and looked outside.
“I was taking the dog out, and it was pretty bad,” Kombet said.
“You could taste the smoke, and my sinuses were acting up.”
They canceled their plans and are going to stay indoors.
“We’re just going to go to a museum, have fun there,” Kombet said.
Hari Karne, who works in Federal Triangle, wore a N-95 mask outside for the first time in years – something she said she hasn’t done much since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I looked outside and it was so hazy and then I smelled the actual smoke, and I was like, oh, time to wear a mask,” Karne said.
“It’s kind of deja vu.”
The D.C. region’s air quality is at code purple for the first time since 2023.
That means the air outside is unhealthy for all individuals.
The D.C. region during a code purple air quality day.
Tyrone Turner / WAMU
Jen Desimone, air program chief at the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, said sensitive groups like seniors, children, and people with heart and lung disease should be especially careful.
“But even healthy individuals should also avoid any long or intense outdoor activities as well,” Desimone said.
“It’s really best to just stay indoors today and just wait for the air quality to improve.”
If you must go outside, Desimone said, wear a high quality mask, take frequent breaks inside, and avoid strenuous activities like running.
Staying indoors, however, doesn’t completely protect you from exposure to the bad air.
Desimone said you should make sure your windows are tightly closed.
If you have a portable air cleaner or a central air system, those can be used to filter any pollutants that have made their way into your home.
The high concentration of air pollutants is due to smoke blowing south from wildfires in Canada.
Canadian wildfires also triggered Code Purple air quality alerts in the summer of 2023, when the region experienced its worst air quality in decades.
Desimone said the good news is that the air quality is expected to start improving over the weekend, and that the intense air pollution won’t last as long as it did in 2023.
“It was more of an extended event,” Desimone said.
“This one, we’re anticipating it’s going to be a one-day event.”
And while wildfires may have contributed to a greater frequency of Code Purple alerts in recent years, Desimone said overall air quality in the region has actually improved over the past two decades.
Due to the air quality, D.C. and several other jurisdictions, including Fairfax and Montgomery Counties, canceled all outdoor activities and closed pools today.
The post The D.C. region is under a code purple air quality alert.
Here’s what to know appeared first on WAMU .
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