Dirty air, a little information and some pictures of its effects

LJWorld.com weblogs Lawrence Weather Watch

Posted by Ashley Meenen November 4, 2009 at 12:23 p.m.

Dirty air, a little information and some pictures of its effects

The word smog originally came from the combination of fog and smoke. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has a great article on the history of smog.

Today, the scientific term we use is photochemical smog. Simply put, this is what forms when pollutants react with the sun to form ozone, the same chemical that protects us from the sun, but is hazardous in the lower level of the atmosphere. Los Angeles is an example of a city in the United States with a lot of smog.

Here are a few links to pictures of smog:

Here are a couple of pictures of smog in London.

In this picture you can barely see Los Angeles.

I am surprised the cars do not have their lights on in this picture taken in China.

Here is a picture of the sun as seen through smog in Beijing.

If you are interested in air pollutant levels in your town or across the country, you can find that data here, from the federal government.

Another site from the American Lung Association ranks the cleanest and most polluted cities based on ozone, short-term particles and year-round particles. I looked on the site to find the city most polluted by ozone, short-term particles and year-round particles. The following cities were number one respectively: Los Angeles, Calif., Bakersfield, Calif. and Pittsburgh, Pa.

Similarly, the cleanest cities by ozone, short-term particles and year-round particles respectively were Billings, Mont., Alexandria, La., and Cheyenne, Wyo.

Consumer1 said, “I spoke recently with a person who mentioned some folks from China visiting the United States. He said because of the smog in the large city they are from, they have never actually seen a lightning bolt. He said the brown sky just lights up when there is lightning. Do you think there is any truth to this?”

The picture above, from Beijing, shows the sun on a “clear day” through smog; you cannot see the outline of the sun. In the other photos, it is hard to make out buildings and cars in the cities. If you think about a foggy morning, you can’t see the moon or stars through the dense fog. I think if the smog really was that bad, you would see the “smog” light up, but it would be very difficult to see the actual lightning bolt, especially the way we see lightning in Northeast Kansas.

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consumer1 (anonymous) says…

This gives me a much clearer idea of what they meant. Thanks Ashley.
I bet it still looks pretty cool though, to see a fuzzy streak of lightening.
November 4, 2009 at 12:38 p.m.
ckennedy (christy kennedy) says…

Thanks for the links. Check this out:
http://www.chinahush.com/2009/10/21/a...
November 4, 2009 at 3:58 p.m.
Fugu (anonymous) says…

Here is a MODIS satellite picture of China smog taken last week: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD...
November 4, 2009 at 4:23 p.m.
devobrun (anonymous) says…

Moral of the story: The concept of a city is past its prime.

Cities arose to protect people from invaders and other hoards.

Now they are a collection of miscreants and people who are not self realized except in the company of others. The needs of these people are legion, multifarious and often quite ridiculous.

And they produce smog.

Move out to the country, live in comfort and joy amid the plants, animals, people important to you and clean air.
November 4, 2009 at 5:14 p.m.
ameenen (Ashley Meenen) says…

consumer1, I agree it would be interesting to see lightning through the smog, although I am very happy we see lightning clearly in Northeast Kansas! I enjoy going for a run outside and playing with my dog in the backyard. I can't imagine how much my lifestyle would change if I lived in a city with smog like that.

ckennedy, the photographs within the article you posted do an amazing job telling the story, but are very sad.

Thanks to everyone for the comments and links!
November 4, 2009 at 5:42 p.m.