But even if the outside is inviting, it's probably best to stay inside and seek the safety of the great indoors — or face the scene of a horror movie.
If you need some quality stories full of fog, smog and pollution to scare you under the covers, check out some of these titles and movie scenes.
And then take a deep breath.
The Ten Commandments, 1956
In the tenth plague scene the "hand of god" appears as a green haze unleashed to kill all firstborn children throughout the land. The only way to be saved was to use the blood from the freshly slit throat of a lamb and rub it to your doorpost. Talk about redecorating.
The most expensive film of its time, The Ten Commandments also cast some of the hottest Hebrews you will ever see assembled for a movie.
Batman, 1989
Batman was Hollywood's first attempt to tell the story of the Dark Knight in live-action since the mid-1960s Adam West series. Actor Michael Keaton masterfully assumes the role of the Caped Crusader opposite Jack Nicholson as the Joker.
In the closing scenes, the Joker releases poison gas released by parade balloons on the citizens of Gotham. Batman, of course, arrives via his inconspicuous Batwing plane to save the day.
Godzilla vs. Hedorah (the Smog Monster), 1971
Godzilla takes on the Smog Monster, AKA Hedorah, an ever-evolving alien life form from the Dark Gaseous Nebula that has arrived to consume Earth.
You may be surprised to find out that the Godzilla series was created as a cautionary tale against man destroying the environment. Maybe Godzilla could talk to his friend, Blucifer the Blue Mustang at Denver International Airport, to start a crusade against the poor air quality in Denver.
The Imp of the Perverse by Edgar Allan Poe, 1845
In this short story by one of America's best authors, a man commits the perfect murder by poisoning the air of his victim in cunning fashion. But after a long struggle, his soul finally gives in, but not because of a guilty conscience. The character just cannot resist the thrill of self-destruction.
An Inconvenient Truth, 2006
A documentary on the threat that climate change poses to the Earth, including its causes, effects, history and potential solutions to it. And did we mention that it's presented by former Vice president Al Gore? Because he sure did.
Try not to fall asleep, this is really scary stuff if you can stay awake through it!
"An Inconvenient Truth" presented by Bill Bradbury from Big Picture Productions on Vimeo.
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)
Immortan Joe and his hordes of pale, "war boys" have genetic mutations as a result of nuclear fallout and other unspecified environmental fouling. It's a sad future to look forward to as Joe, king of the wasteland, is dependent on his respirator to live.
The Mist Black and White Director's Cut, 2007
The Mist director's cut, a black and white version of the film, is one of the best movies adapted from a Stephen King book. Don't even bother watching the color version. The movie tells a tale of an unnatural mist that envelops the town and
conceals vicious, Lovecraftian monsters as extreme tensions rise among the survivors. We won't spoil anything, but try to have a puppy, cupcake or something smile-inducing onhand after the ending. It's not happy.
The Fog, 1980
Best known for his horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s, John Carpenter made an eternal horror classic in The Fog. The movie may not have the profile of his independent slasher film Halloween, but watching the two back to back is pretty frightening.
Apocalypse Now, 1979
Nothing like the haze of Napalm. Let's count our blessings that the smoke in our lungs is coming from burning trees in syrup sucker land, and not chemical explosions in a warzone.
In one of the most famous scenes from the 1979 classic, actor Robert Duvall recites his monologue as Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore.
"Smell that? You smell that? Napalm, son. Nothing else in the world smells like that. I love the smell of napalm in the morning...Victory."
CO2, 2015
Nothing is scarier than the truth. CO2 tells the tale of a 1986 natural eruption of toxic gas that killed more than 1,700 people living by Lake Nyos in northwestern Cameroon.
