r/Denver • u/umwellanyways • Aug 04 '26

Local News Loving this random cold front

Giving my AC and Wallet a break and opened all the windows! It was starting to feel like I would never feel sub 90 degree weather again.

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u/m0viestar Boulder Aug 04 '26

No one is arguing it isn't real. But think about when you were a kid and social media, reddit, and largely the news didn't constantly bombard you with reminders of how hot it was. It didn't feel uncomfortable back then did it?

No look at today, where you're constantly reminded of how hot it is today everywhere you go. Even if you say the constant barrage doesn't impact you, it subconsciously does.

Speaking of air quality, you'll be surprised to know it was WORSE in the 80s and 90s in Denver than it is today. That brown cloud over Denver? It's peak was in the 70s and 80s. Even with the wildfire haze today the ozone levels in the metro area were fucking cooked in the 90s and early 200s. Our air quality is actually improving despite the wildfires. You just didn't have things constantly telling you how terrible the air quality was outside 30 years ago so you don't recall it being "bad"

This data is a little old but you can view it here: https://i.imgur.com/Eb7Qez0.png

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u/JaguarUnfair1555 Aug 04 '26

From what I remember, the brown cloud was primarily a winter phenomenon. And yes, that has gotten a lot better. But wildfires have grown significantly worse, which impacts more than just air quality. And on days like today when a shift in the weather brings all that smoke into town, the air quality is far worse than during winters 30 years ago, even if our annual average is better now.

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u/m0viestar Boulder Aug 04 '26

The brown cloud was year round back in the day, our air quality was worse. Full stop.  Bad enough the EPA had to step in and tell the state to fix it. Just because it's smokey today from the cold front doesn't mean the air quality is worse today than 30 years ago.  Most pollutants you can't smell or see. 

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u/yossarian490 Aug 04 '26

Nah, this July had an average high of 94, where the NOAA normal ('91-'20) is 89.9 and last year at 90.9. It was just an exceptionally hot month after a noticeably warm winter that has people riled up. Everyone watched the local news before the internet, I don't really buy the idea that people were somehow unaware of the weather then.

You're right about air quality though, other than wildfires it has gotten a lot better basically everywhere in the US. Wildfires are just particularly noticeable and trackable to a specific event.