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Jed Boal reportingThe winter of 2008 may be tough on your back because you are shoveling all that snow, but it's actually been a lot easier on your lungs. All those storms have kept our air cleaner than it has been in years.
The last time we enjoyed winter air anywhere near this clear was five years ago. Many communities have struggled with too much snow, but the storms sure clear out the pollution.
Breathe deeply; we don't have many winters like this one. Bryce Bird, with the Utah Division of Air Quality, says, "We've been blessed with snowstorms, and really what we've missed this year is the extended high-pressure periods."
Temperature inversions have not locked in pollution. Last year we had the worst air quality in a decade. One inversion lasted 17 days, the entire second half of January.
This year, we've seen only a few smoggy days. "When the air is bad, people are more vocal about it and want to take more action," says Dr. Courtney Henley with the Utah Clean Air Alliance. "When the air is good, we get to celebrate as a community and enjoy it."
So far this year, we've had four red alert air quality days and 17 yellow.
Last year, we had 30 days in the red and 11 yellow for the season.
Five years ago, it wasn't too bad. We saw only two red days and four yellow, but the air quality standard is twice as stringent now, so all of those days would have been in the red.
But, this season isn't quite over. "When we have high pressures move in when there's snow on the ground, it can sock in fast and concentrations can build very quickly," said Bird.
Despite the clean air this winter, our prospects for bad air remain the same in the long term. Henley says, "Today, we're blissful. It's wonderful and beautiful, but being vigilant, so when the threat does come of bad air, we're ready to deal with it as a community."
The Division of Air Quality urges us to stick to consolidating trips by carpooling, using mass transit and reducing unnecessary idling in our cars. "Just because we have a good year, this year, doesn't mean we can guarantee it next year," Bird says.
Air quality standards are based upon three-year averages and take into account bad years and good years.
For more information on air quality, click on the related link.
