This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
For proof it's a small world, Utahns need only look outside.
The National Weather Service has concluded that the ugly haze hanging over the Wasatch Front is caused by deadly fires blazing thousands of miles away in southern Russia.
"We are all interconnected — something to think of on this Earth Day," said Lisa Verzella, a weather-service meteorologist in Salt Lake City.
Smoke from a fire in Siberia has managed to cross the ocean and settle in, causing hazy air conditions in Utah since Saturday.
On April 12, farmers in the steppes of Russia were doing routine burnings to prepare the soil for farming season. But high-speed winds and warm temperatures caused the fires to spread and continue to burn as of Wednesday. The fire has killed at least 29 and left more than 6,000 people homeless.
Verzella said the smoke reached the eastern coasts of North America on Tuesday.
Health-wise, the smoky conditions may not be as bad as they look, said Donna Kemp Spangler, spokeswoman for the Utah Department of Environmental Quality. But for children or adults with respiratory problems, air quality may be more of a concern.
With anticipated rain showers and a new air-pressure system working its way into Utah's valleys, the haze may not last through the end of the week.
"It looks like the combination of precipitation here and the bigger air mass moving in on Sunday should calm things down by the weekend," Verzella said.
But if the fires continue in Siberia, the smoke could be revived. And there is a potential interaction between smoke from the Siberian wildfires and our own wildfires, she added.
"Even if we get cleared out for this fire, we may have some potential air issues later in the spring, into summer," she said.
"Take advantage of the clear air while you can."
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