Is the sky looking a little different to you today?

Wildfire smoke is likely headed back to the Front Range this morning. Scott Landes, a state air-quality forecaster, expects high levels of both ozone and particulate matter — which can be harmful to human health.

“In general, if you are going to be outside, do it in the morning, and maybe slow it down by 50 percent or so,” he said.

The smoke is coming from fires burning in Arizona and New Mexico. Cooler weather and rain should help clean up the air by the end of the week.

The statewide extreme heat is brought on partly by high pressure and partly by ongoing drought.

Here are the latest readings from downtown. Read more about these numbers.

More on being so, so hot:

Kevin looked into data in 2019 showing that Denver is hotter in places where people are less likely to be white and more likely to earn less than people living in other neighborhoods. Other maps show how residents who are more vulnerable to high heat often live in areas where the problem is worse.

If you’re going to be outside, be careful. And maybe refer to this transplant’s guide to the sun in Colorado.

Did it seem like a wet winter? Yeah, not in most of the state.