Why is california so smoggy

Smog over downtown Los Angeles. Courtesy of Southern California Edison. Smog fills the San Fernando Valley. Marine layer clouds sitting over Manhattan Beach. Courtesy of HDonTap. Arrow pointing from Alerts Popup to the Tool button. Show Announcements Popup 4. Arrow pointing from Announcements Popup to the Tool button. Current Air Quality. Location Search Use this box for geographic or locaion based searches.

The information is included for historical interest only, and should not be relied upon for accuracy for current air quality control procedures or standards. Upland, Calif.

Southern California residents take it for granted that air pollution control is a highly sophisticated science backed up by a world-class air quality monitoring network. It wasn't always so. One of the first indications of the ill effects of smog was its damage to plants. Read about early research into plant damage at the University of California, Riverside.

The first smog monitoring network wasn't established until the s. One of the first stations still monitors pollutants in downtown Los Angeles. Southland residents endured extremely hazardous ozone levels until , when the last Stage III episode was recorded in Upland. Early air pollution officials had to contend with some serious pollution problems that no longer exist, such as orchard.

In their quest for clean air, Southland residents and engineers thought of just about everything to sweep away smog, including the installation of giant fans. As the region's oldest air quality monitoring station, the South Coast Air Quality Management District's downtown Los Angeles station has been home to the gamut of technologies used through the years to measure air pollution.

Main St. The highest ozone level the station ever recorded was. Ozone is a chief component of smog. During the station's early years, everything was done by hand. Air pollution researchers set jars outside for up to 36 hours to collect fallout air samples.

Then using qualitative and quantitative laboratory methods they determined air quality levels. The monitoring equipment was large, cumbersome and would be subject to interference from time to time, Bope said. In addition to equipment, the laboratory was home to a variety of small animals used to test the health effects of air pollution.

Rats, mice and guinea pigs were exposed to rooms filled with clean and ambient air concentrations. After the animals died, the scientists examined their lung tissue and respiratory systems. This information was used to help establish smog alert levels. The Obama administration reportedly considered updating the standard last summer but decided to table the decision until given economic priorities. Send questions to: earthtalk emagazine.

Subscribe : www. Free Trial Issue : www. Search Query Show Search. About NHPR. Show Search Search Query.