PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Maricopa County has declared Monday through Wednesday as ‘no burn days.’ County leaders say there are elevated levels of smoke in the air.

The poor air quality was visible in the Valley Monday as the Arizona’s Family news drone captured video of the layers of pollution. It could be seen from Camelback Mountain through downtown Phoenix.

It’s common to see the dirty air this time of year. There are more people visiting Arizona through the holidays, which means more cars and more air pollution.

There are also more people burning inside to heat their homes, which sends smoke into the air. People will also light off fireworks around the holidays, which can add to the already poor air quality.

While the weather is beautiful around the Valley this time of year, it can be the deadliest time in Arizona. According to numbers from the Arizona Department of Health Services, January is the deadliest month of the year.

In 2022, more than 8,300 people died in Arizona, nearly 2,000 more than any other month. December was second-highest, with more than 6,700 people who died.

Air pollution could be a contributing factor to the increased deaths in our state.

Dr. Ashley Lowe with the College of Nursing at the University of Arizona works with many Arizona schools. She says these months are when more kids are going to the nurse with breathing problems and says air pollution is a big reason why.

“We do tend to have an uptick in the number of visits to the health office because kids are having breathing problems,” Lowe said. “All of these things come together to create a perfect storm.”

Dr. Lowe says kids with asthma can especially be impacted from the dirty air. She says she doesn’t want kids to stay away from their practices and other events, but it’s best to limit exposure outdoors on some of the worst air quality days.

If you are struggling to breathe, shutting the windows and doors around your home can help by keeping the polluted air outside of your home.

An indoor air filter can also clean out the bad particles from the air inside your home.

The weather also plays a role in why the bad air can stick around for days or even weeks this time of year. While it’s beautiful outside, the weather is normally calm which means there is no wind or rain to push the dirty air away.

“We live already in a valley kind of in a bowl and everything kind of settles. You get warm afternoons and cold mornings so that inversion sets in and it kind of traps everything,” Arizona’s Family First Alert Meteorologist April Warnecke said. “It would help to get wind or rain but those are the two things we don’t have in the forecast.”

Air quality trackers can show where the worst of the polluted air is.

According to AirNow, Christmas and New Year’s can have the worst air quality of the year. There were readings of “very unhealthy” air quality during the holidays in 2023.

The CDC says chronic respiratory disease is the fifth leading cause of death in Arizona each year.

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Who is favored in College Football Playoff quarterfinal odds?

Check out the point spread, moneyline and over/under (point total) for all four quarterfinal games on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook.

No. 3 Boise State faces No. 6 Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl on Tuesday, Dec. 31.

On Wednesday, Jan. 1, No. 4 Arizona State takes on No. 5 Texas in the Peach Bowl, No. 1 Oregon plays No. 8 Ohio State in the Rose Bowl and No. 2 Georgia opposes No. 7 Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl.

The lower seed is interestingly currently favored in betting odds for three of the four CFP quarterfinal matchups, with Arizona State the biggest underdog as almost a 2-touchdown underdog against Texas.

CFP national champion odds: Texas, Ohio State now favored

College Football Playoff quarterfinal odds: Point spreads

• Penn State (-10.5) vs Boise State (+10.5)
• Texas (-13.5) vs Arizona State (+13.5)
• Ohio State (-2.5) vs Oregon (+2.5)
• Notre Dame (+1.5) vs Georgia (-1.5)

College Football Playoff schedule: Times, dates, how to watch CFP quarterfinal games on TV

College Football Playoff quarterfinal odds: Moneylines

• Penn State (-450) vs Boise State (+340)
• Texas (-550) vs Arizona State (+400)
• Ohio State (-130) vs Oregon (+110)
• Notre Dame (+105) vs Georgia (-125)

More: Why is Matthew McConaughey a Texas Longhorns fan?

College Football Playoff quarterfinal odds: Over/unders (point totals)

• Penn State vs Boise State: 52.5
• Texas vs Arizona State: 52.5
• Ohio State vs Oregon: 53.5
• Notre Dame vs Georgia: 44.5

CFP tickets: How much are College Football Playoff seats?

Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.

Support local journalism: Subscribe to azcentral.com today.

This season has not gone as many expected for Arizona.

After coming into the year ranked No. 10 in preseason polls, the Wildcats quickly dropped out of the picture following losses to Wisconsin and Duke which were a precursor of what was to come.

Arizona went into the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament as one of the favorites, and after beating Davidson in their first-round matchup by over 30 points, it looked like they had gotten things back on track and were ready to play like the team many expected them to be.

But, alarm bells went off when they lost back-to-back games against Oklahoma and West Virginia that pushed them under .500 for the first time in the Tommy Lloyd era, and also the first time in 14 years.

Since then, Arizona has taken care of business against the lesser opponents on their schedule but failed to win against UCLA despite being in control for the majority of that contest.

The Wildcats closed out their non-conference schedule in style following that loss, bludgeoning Samford and Central Michigan to head into the holiday break feeling more positive about what they can accomplish going forward, while also having a lot to think about.

Lloyd and the players know this wasn’t the early-season stretch they wanted, but he gave his team a clear directive during this break; take time away from basketball.

“Rest, relax, love your family, hang out. That’s the homework,” the head coach said per Bruce Pascoe of The Arizona Daily Star.

That’s probably a good approach.

There’s nothing anyone can do about what has already taken place, but they can certainly get burned out if they’re not careful and lose confidence if they dwell on mistakes.

“I mean, this nonconference was rough. I think we all need a little break and a reset,” KJ Lewis said.

Lloyd is giving his players that time to reset, sending everyone home for the holidays or somewhere with either friends or family.

This time away should hopefully allow Arizona to put the non-conference schedule in the past and get ready for the daunting challenge that will come by playing Big 12 opponents until Selection Sunday.

Lloyd is also hoping this let’s his team get motivated for their return to the court.

“Get hungry. Get hungry because we know when we come back — we’re excited to be starting this Big 12 thing we’ve been talking about for about 20 months. We’re fired up,” he added.

Arizona welcomes TCU into the McKale Center on Dec. 30.