Comments
Wuz314159 t1_j1yluy4 wrote
Wasn't there some holiday this weekend too?
Extreme_Qwerty OP t1_j1xvr0a wrote
During winter, when air is warmer in the atmosphere than at the surface, temperature inversions occur.
An inversion happens when the warmer air acts like a lid above the cooler air underneath, preventing pollutants from rising and dispersing, trapping them at breathing level.
Inversions are strongest in the winter months when pollution from vehicle exhaust, industrial sites and wood burning can fester near the ground, leading to poor air quality.
chertbae t1_j1xzpo3 wrote
The areas where it seems highest (those 134 markers between Harrisburg and Philly) probably is due to Deka combined with what other people have been saying about the inversion.
Inert_Uncle_858 t1_j1xusom wrote
What does this even mean?
When I think air quality I think Smog, but I haven't seen smog in my entire life and I've lived in SEPA my whole life.
E_Pluribus_Omnom t1_j1xvt4r wrote
It's a measurement based on these 5 major pollutants; ground-level ozone, particle pollution, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide.
Philadelphia definitely has visible smog.
Wuz314159 t1_j1ylqrh wrote
CO & NO2 are high right now as per Windy. Particulates aren't too good either.
LostInSpace9 t1_j229dc2 wrote
Crazy how visible it is when flying in/out of PHL
Joran_Dax t1_j1xv8nk wrote
It can also be affected by natural disasters. I remember when the forest fires in the Northwest became so bad that the smoke drifted cross country and was affecting air quality on the east coast.
Extreme_Qwerty OP t1_j1xvzux wrote
Fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) commonly comes from industrial sites, car exhaust and chemical reactions in the atmosphere. The particles can lodge in the lungs and bloodstream, causing respiratory complications.
During winter, when air is warmer in the atmosphere than at the surface, temperature inversions can occur.
An inversion happens when the warmer air acts like a lid above the cooler air underneath, preventing pollutants from rising and dispersing, trapping them at breathing level.
Inversions are strongest in the winter months when pollution from vehicle exhaust, industrial sites and wood burning can fester near the ground, leading to poor air quality.
sintactacle t1_j1z1rmo wrote
>temperature inversions
Bingo! and the most famous inversion event happened in Western Pennsylvania south of Pittsburgh in Denora.
Inversions are definitely a thing in the Southeast of the state. I used to commute through Lancaster and Lebanon counties along 322 and on still winter days, you would see the smoke from farms burning trash rise up undisturbed vertically to a point and then spread out horizontally as if it was trapped by a giant pane of glass.
Inert_Uncle_858 t1_j1xvuah wrote
But like, is it supposed to affect us somehow? Make it hard to breathe? Even during the forest fires I never was able to tell. During that time I was located in Berks and Chester counties. I now live in Northern Chester county not far from Pottstown. Never experienced anything I would call poor air quality, outside of an enclosed space with machinery or paint booth.
Joran_Dax t1_j1xzux8 wrote
In the short term, most healthy people won't even notice the air quality, unless it becomes extremely bad. However, for those individuals who have health conditions that affect breathing, such as asthma, emphysema, etc., it's more problematic and can cause acute respiratory distress. Long-term exposure to high levels of air pollutants, even for healthy people, can lead to respiratory problems, similar, as I understand it, to smokers.
TOW2Bguy t1_j1yivgd wrote
In the case of open-air trash fires 🔥, commonly called burn pits in the military, or in rural areas that still allow burn barrels, damaged lungs can happen over the course of just a few months.
Wuz314159 t1_j1yljot wrote
You haven't seen smog because there is constant smog these days.
PPQue6 t1_j1y2gjz wrote
Well duhhhhhhhh it's because you're right next to NJ!
Stonecutter_12-83 t1_j1ydgn4 wrote
It's almost as if the higher the population density the worst the air quality from cars and production....
Wuz314159 t1_j1ym0lm wrote
It's not the population density, it's the infrastructure. Europe doesn't have these issues. Places with lots of cars do.
Stonecutter_12-83 t1_j1ymdtg wrote
I literally said cars in my post....
It's high population & cars, I know
Wuz314159 t1_j1yn0xi wrote
I wasn't saying that you were wrong about the cars, just about cities being bad. American cities are bad because we suck at transit. =)
Stonecutter_12-83 t1_j1yn49e wrote
Yeah Americans are terrible at that. And anytime they try to get bike lanes or public transit there is a huge backlash
WookieeSteakIsChewie t1_j1zitt2 wrote
>Europe doesn't have these issues
https://airindex.eea.europa.eu/Map/AQI/Viewer/
Spain, Greece and Italy disagree.
transneptuneobj t1_j1y01bp wrote
We have lots of refineries and cars and manufacturing, Pittsburg has.....
Extreme_Qwerty OP t1_j1y0xao wrote
> industrial sites, fracking and vehicle exhaust
We also have the new cracker plant, which 'cracks' natural gas into plastic nurdles for making plastic stuff. Lots and lots of plastic stuff.
WookieeSteakIsChewie t1_j1zkgbq wrote
Self driving cars, high tech industries , healthcare, and very opposite to Philly, sports teams that actually win championships.
WikiSummarizerBot t1_j1zki4l wrote
>Sports in Pittsburgh have been played dating back to the American Civil War. Baseball, hockey, and the first professional American football game had been played in the city by 1892. Pittsburgh was first known as the "City of Champions" when the Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Panthers football team, and Pittsburgh Steelers won multiple championships in the 1970s. Today, the city has three major professional sports franchises, the Pirates, Steelers, and Penguins; while the University of Pittsburgh Panthers compete in a Division I Power Five conference, the highest level of collegiate athletics in the United States, in both football and basketball.
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Thoraxe474 t1_j1yx9yc wrote
What about Pittsburgh
NibblebeeBumblebitz t1_j1ymj3i wrote
Well yeah, it's closer to Jersey
Thunderbirds119 t1_j1xxdvt wrote
No shit
[deleted] t1_j1y5rxo wrote
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[deleted] t1_j1yf7gj wrote
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bignick222 t1_j1z1l4w wrote
Because somebody farted
asjilly90 t1_j21yrpu wrote
Because every one in Southeastern Pa, just has to live in the 5 county and 3 state area near Philly ie Philadelphia, Montgomery, Delaware, Chester and Bucks counties…
thisoldbroad t1_j26l4mi wrote
That's all the time. Decades of factories and steel mills in the East, which were never modernized, plus the influx of industrial parks that have swallowed up the farmland that used to grace Route 22, have caused a haze over the central corridor of Eastern PA that will take Noah's rain to abate.
spicynuggies t1_j1xt8i7 wrote
Too many cars and too much concrete im assuming
Wuz314159 t1_j1ym49u wrote
Cars & factories combined with topography & weather.
motobudtender t1_j204ipb wrote
Yeah I mean Philly is a shithole so of course it’s going to put off shit pollution
CBScott7 t1_j1xreok wrote
Filthadelphia has a lot of problems
Extreme_Qwerty OP t1_j1xwnt8 wrote
Usuallly the Pittsburgh area has worse air quality, from industrial sites, fracking and vehicle exhaust, and this pollution gets trapped in our many valleys, where it lingers.
Inversions make it worse.
If you're always groggy and sleepy, even after a full night's sleep, it may be due to pollution, which seeps in from outdoors and makes you congested.
Electrical-Wish-519 t1_j1xvfs1 wrote
Roads have been have empty around here the last few days. This has to be because of the weather some how, assuming the east part of the state isnt always like this