Air Quality Colors

Posted on September 6, 2018. Posted in Stewardship

Here in Utah our days are labeled with colors and we hear air quality and inversion thrown around A LOT.  So… what’s that all about?          

The Air Quality Index (AQI) is that fun indicator that tells us if we are having a green,yellow,orange or red air day.  The AQI uses numbers to represent the combo of air pollution and weather conditions.  Air quality can fluctuate through the day as wind and temperatures change.  The main pollutant levels tracked are PM 2.5 (fine particulate matter) and OZONE.  Ground level OZONE is formed through chemical reactions to VOC (volatile organic compounds) and other emissions in the presence of sunlight and heat.  PM 2.5 refers to tiny particles in the air that are 2 1/2 microns or less in width (over 30x smaller than human hair!)  

3 categories make up Utah’s air contaminants- point, area and mobile sources.  (You can find charts and reports through the Division of Air Quality on DEQ.Utah.gov.)  POINT sources are large industrial/commercial facilities such as power plants and manufacturing facilities.   AREA sources are much smaller stationary sources like home heating, agricultural burning/harvesting, construction, residential/commercial energy generation, wildfires, and biogenics (emissions from vegetation).   MOBILE sources consist of emissions from non-stationary sources: planes, trains and automobiles.

How does inversion play a role; aren’t inversions natural?   Yes, but because we sit in a beautiful bowl surrounded by mountains, an inversion will act like a hat trapping and condensing pollution, making things much worse some days. Generally air is warm in lower elevations and cools as it moves up.  A surface temperature inversion is when the system flips; warm air is on top, cold air hovers down low.  This happens in the winter when the Sun is not as hot, nights are longer and we have little wind.  This combination cools the air closest to the ground and the absent wind holds those surface temps, keeping higher elevations warmer (and the hat on our pollution).  What can clear an inversion?  Storms with wind.  

So… whats the big deal?  Well, its those icky days.  The sky is stagnant and muggy.  Your hair feels dirty.  A cough develops.  Can’t catch your breath.  Well, THAT’S part of poor air quality.  Children, elderly, pregnant women and asthma sufferers are NOT the only residents at risk.  Sure, we can push through the heavy breathing, runny nose, itchy eyes and headaches.  But no one is immune to the bigger health issues that accompany ground ozone and PM 2.5. Our bodies struggle to filter particles of this size, so they travel dangerously deep into our respiratory systems which can disrupt cardiovascular functions . (That’s your lungs and heart, people!)  Some problems that can arise are heart attacks, heart disease, aggravated emphysema and chronic bronchitis (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease or COPD), acute lower respiratory infections and adverse birth outcomes.  In addition to human risk, our federal government has directly linked poor air quality to rising temperatures which has and will continue to impact local vegetation and ecosystems.    

 Well, what gets rid of pollution?  Good news- We do!!  

Absolutely. Sure, agriculture and industry make up their large part of the pie.  But for average citizens like you and me, we can focus on energy conservation and transportation, transportation, transportation.  (Driving is a biggie, guys)  Simple action means big improvement.  Every effort to cut air pollution DOES make a difference.  

Here are some ways. We’ve got this!:

cleartheairchallenge.org