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John Daley ReportingResidents in Northern Utah are seeing a familiar but very unwelcome sight a little early this year--smog, brought on by another temperature inversion.
All you've got to do is look at the air to see the problems we've got today. Monday afternoon Utah's Department of Environmental Quality issued a health advisory for the counties of northern Utah.
It's a red burn category for Salt Lake and Davis Counties and yellow for Weber, Cache and Utah. The state is asking people not use wood-burning stoves, so it's a mandatory "no burn" and health officials advise children, the elderly, and those with breathing problem to avoid prolonged or heavy outdoor activities.
These warnings do come a little early this winter and have doctors and hospitals expecting to see more patients troubled with respiratory ailments.
Dr. Alan Bitner, Intermountain Allergy & Asthma: "I'll get to where I'm getting two or three phone calls a day from patients who are having active problems with their asthma. Again, it's fewer now than it used to be because these patients have been educated on how to treat their asthma and they understand what they need to do and fortunately most of them hopefully are doing that. What will happen with patients who have respiratory problems, particularly asthma, which is what I see mostly? They'll start to notice at increase in their symptoms as the air quality gets worse."
According to the American Lung Associaton, more than 47,000 children in Utah have asthma. Estimates are that one in three Utahns experience some type of respiratory problem during high pollution periods.
Some tips: try carpooling, using mass transit and walking. If driving, drive smarter to keep pollution at a minimum. Drive your newest car, combine your trips and keep your vehicle well-tuned.
