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SALT LAKE CITY — The Salt Lake Valley and surrounding areas have been trudging through another winter dense with inversion-related smog, but globally speaking, we’re not alone in this problem.
The American Lung Association ranks Salt Lake City at number six in the country this winter for “short-term particle pollution.” With less dense warmer air trapping the colder, denser air and pollution closer to the valley floor, Utah’s climate creates a perfect storm for inversion. While the Beehive State may experience terrible air during the colder months, it’s not alone when it comes to pollution made worse by inversion.
Many cities around the world deal with occasionally crippling pollution caused by colder temperatures. Recently, NASA published a post on its world geography site Earth Observatory outlining the problems China’s Sichuan Basin has been having this winter with inversion-exacerbated pollution.
“Haze in this region tends to worsen in the winter, when cold, heavy air traps pollutants near the surface,” the NASA website says. “In this case, the haze was likely trapped in the Sichuan Basin by a temperature inversion.”
During the winter of 1952, a thick, inversion-related smog settled on the city of London, causing an estimated 12,000 deaths. British Parliament has since passed two clean air acts, but the city continues to experience cold-weather related smog and haze from time to time.
The Austrian city of Vienna has been battling pollution made worse by inversion for many years. In the early 1990s, the city experienced a jump in traffic and pollution from cars, adding to its already compounded problems during the winter months.
- Bakersfield, Calif.
- Fresno, Calif.
- Hanford-Corcoran, Calif.
- Los Angeles, Calif.
- Modesto, Calif.
- Salt Lake City, Utah
- Pittsburgh, Pa.
- Merced, Calif.
- Fairbanks, Alaska
- Logan, Utah
Austria serves as a thoroughfare for commercial semi-trucks, and many ecologists cite this as a major factor for the increase in particle pollution problems. The Austrian government is currently working with the European Union to limit the passage of these trucks through their cities and towns.
Many cities around the globe are working to reduce the problems inverted related pollution can cause. While inversion is a weather event and can’t be controlled or prevented, the particle pollutants that become more dense during a season of inversion can be regulated.
In Europe, a coalition of countries has been working since 1998 to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the region to reduce the problems of seasonal pollution. The European Commission voted to regulate the production of new cars to reduce carbon dioxide emissions of future vehicles.
In China, the government has been working lately to reduce inversion related pollution in its largest cities. Regulations on large factory machinery started in 2010 under the regional air quality regulations.
Here in Utah, a rally to promote clean-air laws drew more than 4,000 people. Those present said they are working to raise awareness of the health problems associated with wintertime pollution and the need to use public transit.
