SALT LAKE CITY — Frigid temperatures and a high pressure system parked over the Wasatch Front are fueling worsening air quality conditions that will only continue to mount as the week unfolds.

The Utah Department of Environmental Quality issued mandatory restrictions Monday for Salt Lake, Davis, Weber, Utah and Cache counties, asking residents to refrain from using solid fuel burning devices, such as wood stoves, and to limit driving.

"We have the trifecta effect: cold temperatures, snow on the ground and an inversion setting up means pollution is going to rise. Without a significant storm it is going to get worse if we don't limit our driving," said agency spokesperson Donna Kemp Spangler.

Below normal temperatures won't even see much relief with a weak storm system that is expected to push through northern Utah Tuesday and Wednesday. The forecast calls for light snow — if that — for valley locations, creating the possibility of slick driving conditions.

Temperatures are not expected to get above freezing through this week along the Wasatch Front, with forecasted highs between 25 degrees and 30 degrees, and lows in the teens.

Fine particulate pollution, or PM2.5, will continue to worsen throughout the week. By Tuesday and Wednesday, the agency is forecasting pollutants to be at the level where it is unhealthy for sensitive groups. People with asthma or other respiratory conditions, the elderly and the very young should limit exposure to the outdoors.

Seven of Utah's counties, or portions of them, remain out of compliance with federal Clean Air standards when it comes to 24-hour levels of fine particulates, or the PM2.5.

Related:

Utah air quality agency miffed by Los Angeles smog comparison

Utah air quality regulators are firing back at the Sierra Club after an online blog by its national director said visibility at two of the state's national parks is akin to 1970 Los Angeles.

The Utah Air Quality Board approved a state plan to decrease those pollution levels, implementing more than 20 new rules aimed at curbing emission levels. Some of the rules deal with the chemical composition of paint or even hair spray, while other rules address pollutants caused by a variety of industries, including wood manufacturing or printing businesses.

Earlier this year a rule aimed at requiring households to phase in low nitrogen oxide emitting water heaters was nixed by a legislative committee after complaints from the home building industry about the board possibly overstepping its authority.

That rule is destined to be taken up in the next legislative session that begins Jan. 25.

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert has also worked with area refineries to urge more expedient adoption of cleaner burning, or so-called Tier 3 gasoline, meant to drastically reduce tailpipe emissions over time.

Spangler said the good news is that even as air quality is beginning to worsen along the Wasatch Front, pollution levels aren't as bad as in some previous years.

"The silver lining is that we aren't seeing the pollution levels as high as in the past winters," she said. "That's because all the pollution-reduction strategies put into place are working.​"

KSL Weather's forecasted temperatures for the week are:

Tuesday: High 25, low 15.

Wednesday: High 27, low 14.

Thursday: High 27, low 14.

Friday: High 28, low 12.

Saturday: High 29, low 11.

Sunday: High 33, low 14.

Related topics