A new city has grabbed the unwanted top spot for worst air quality in the world due to a string of wildfires raging nearby.
Seattle in the US surpassed other pollution heavy weights like Beijing and Delhi for two days in a row as forest fires burned in the nearby Cascade Mountains.
This was made worst by the long period of hot dry weather kicking dust into the atmosphere.
The streets of the city in Washington State, north-west US, were filled with smoke and many residents wore masks when they left the house.
On Wednesday Seattle's Air Quality Index (AQI) was labelled 'very unhealthy' and reached 240.
By comparison Beijing, usually the worse for air pollution but had been pushed to second place by Seattle, measured 167 (merely 'unhealthy').
National Weather Service meteorologist Maddie Kristell described the level of pollution seen in Seattle as a "shocking statistic".
Vital storm rains were being blocked from the area by a "high pressure ridge" which allowed the wildfires to spread.
She said: "That ridge was really strong and it was just not allowing a difference in weather patterns to come through."
The US has been experiencing an unprecedented drought which has affected huge swathes of the country.
On Sunday Seattle broke the record for the hottest day this late in the autumn after clocking 31C.
The smog made visibility poor and nearby Mount Rainier was invisible.
The polluted conditions continued into Thursday with Seattle remaining in the top spot.
By 10.30pm Thursday evening, Seattle had fallen back to #2, with Beijing, at #1.
By Friday, Seattle had dropped off the list as cooler weather moved in including some rain.
The drought is being felt across the country.
Data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which has a National Integrated Drought Information System, says the level of the famous Mississippi river is at record lows.
The story is similar across parts of the US, where a ship dating back to the 19th century was uncovered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, earlier this year.
The National Integrated Drought Information System said that, as of October 18, "49.71 per cent of the U.S. and 59.35 per cent of the Lower 48 states are in [a] drought."
In total, the NOAA department says that around 134.7 million people are directly affected by the drought.
A woman looking for rocks along the shoreline of the massive river found human remains in the shallow waters.
Crystal Foster said they hope authorities "work quickly" to find out who the person behind the uncovered bones is.
Foster found the remains in Coahoma County, Mississippi, while she was searching along the bank with her family and contacted the County Sheriff’s Office.
She told NBC affiliate WMC-TV: "I just hope that the MBI [Mississippi Bureau of Investigation] works quickly on this case and is able to identify the victim to the dental records at the very least so that way their family can get closure because that would bring me some peace at least."
