Weather Underground Air Quality Index (Anchorage, Fairbanks: how much, live in, legally)

[Arktikos]

A new feature, or at least one I've just noticed, in their weather forecast pages.

Juneau, Anchorage and Fairbanks have reported values, but none of the smaller communities in SE I checked had them.

Here it is defined: "We track six criteria pollutants considered harmful to public health and the environment. Those include carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, particulate matter (10µm or less and 2.5µm or less), as well as sulfur dioxide.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) is the official index for air quality across the United States. The AQI ranges from 0 to 500. The higher the AQI value, the greater the level of air pollution and the greater the health concern."

A typical "good" score is in the mid 20's, such as found in Anchorage or Portland, Oregon today.

Juneau's is 3 today.

I wonder how much these values change when cruise ships are in port. Probably significant in an area such as downtown Juneau or Skagway.

[wror]

Wood stove smoke is one of the worst air polluters there is in a community. A number of physicians in the country have said breathing in wood stove smoke is worse than smoking cigarettes.
Would think wood stove pollution is more of a villain in Anchorage or Portland, Oregon than cruise ships.

I live in a warm area most of the year with lots of cruise ships and zero people have wood stoves. Based on the The Air Quality Index rates, the area has one of the best air quality in the USA

[The0racle]

And where pray tell, might that location be friend?

[wror]

Originally Posted by The0racle

And where pray tell, might that location be friend?

It is on this list:
https://www.thrillist.com/news/natio...st-air-quality

[akpls]

And you who lives in a "warm area", what do you suggest for those of us who live in a not-so-warm area?

[Arktikos]

Originally Posted by wror

I live in a warm area most of the year with lots of cruise ships and zero people have wood stoves. Based on the The Air Quality Index rates, the area has one of the best air quality in the USA

The rate is probably in the 20's on a typical day, with automobiles being the primary contributor to the minimal particulate matter.

At least during spring/summer, coastal Alaska communities are probably lower than that most of the time, due to fewer cars, with rates rising when the diesel powered cruise ships are in town.

[AK76]

Check those values in Anchorage next spring, after breakup, before street cleaning. The dust in the air from a winters worth of sanding the roads is terrible! Another thing to consider is the lack of air movement during winter months when high pressure dominates, air stagnation is common in Fairbanks and Anchorage.

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by wror

Wood stove smoke is one of the worst air polluters there is in a community. A number of physicians in the country have said breathing in wood stove smoke is worse than smoking cigarettes.
Would think wood stove pollution is more of a villain in Anchorage or Portland, Oregon than cruise ships.

I live in a warm area most of the year with lots of cruise ships and zero people have wood stoves. Based on the The Air Quality Index rates, the area has one of the best air quality in the USA

That's what the EPA and local agencies tell you, but in reality a lot of other factors come into play in Fairbanks, Anchorage, Juneau, and so on. Half or more of the air pollution in these areas come from wild fires, automobiles, boilers and furnaces, power plants, and from a myriad of tools and things that use internal combustion motors. But particulates in the air we breath is not cause only from wood smoke.

Wood stove smoke, depending on how much of it you breath, is as bad as tobacco smoke, or pot smoke, or any other smoke from any other plant.

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by AK76

Check those values in Anchorage next spring, after breakup, before street cleaning. The dust in the air from a winters worth of sanding the roads is terrible! Another thing to consider is the lack of air movement during winter months when high pressure dominates, air stagnation is common in Fairbanks and Anchorage.

To make matters worst for Fairbanks, there are very intense air inversions taking place several times during the winter months.

[wror]

Originally Posted by RayinAK

That's what the EPA and local agencies tell you, but in reality a lot of other factors come into play in Fairbanks, Anchorage, Juneau, and so on. Half or more of the air pollution in these areas come from wild fires, automobiles, boilers and furnaces, power plants, and from a myriad of tools and things that use internal combustion motors. But particulates in the air we breath is not cause only from wood smoke.

Wood stove smoke, depending on how much of it you breath, is as bad as tobacco smoke, or pot smoke, or any other smoke from any other plant.

Is there a big subculture of drivers driving coal runners and modified loud exhaust systems in these areas of Alaska? Pickup truck owners illegally removing Federal mandated emission components. Very harmful to the air the drivers breath in, drivers behind them,the community people's respiratory systems. Add everyone using wood stoves.

Its easy to blame cruises, plane fly overs, because they are impersonal targets for being air polluters. In my experience and viewpoints: it is the people in a community that are the biggest causes of local air pollution.