safety
Why air quality can still be bad even if the sky doesn’t look smoky
By CNN Newsource at KVIA ABC-7
· July 17, 2026
· 5 min read
By Kasha Patel, CNN
(CNN) — Wildfires are expected to bring unhealthy air to more than 120 million people this weekend, but the smoke and its toxic particles may not always be clearly visible. Some skylines are shrouded in obvious abnormal orange tinges with faint burnt odors. Other horizons ma...
Key takeaway “Just because it does look a little bit less brown and orange today doesn’t necessarily mean that the smoke’s not there,” said Dan Westervelt, an atmospheric scientist at Columbia University.
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Category: safety ·
Published: July 17, 2026 ·
Source: KVIA ABC-7 ·
Reading time: 5 min
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What is this story about? By Kasha Patel, CNN
(CNN) — Wildfires are expected to bring unhealthy air to more than 120 million people this weekend, but the smoke and its toxic particles may not always be clearly visible. Some skylines are shrouded in obvious abnormal orange tinges with faint burnt odors. Other horizons ma...
When was this published? This article was first published on July 17, 2026 by KVIA ABC-7 and curated for The El Paso readers.
Who reported this story? This story was reported by CNN Newsource at KVIA ABC-7. To learn more about how The El Paso selects and reviews stories, see our editorial standards .
Where can I find related coverage? See more safety coverage from The El Paso, or browse our daily briefing and topic hubs .
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