Air Inversions and General Air Quality of Denver Area (Commerce City: allergies, living in)

[MNLaker]

Hi,

I am a 20 year old currently living in Minneapolis, MN but am hoping to be able to move out to Denver in the next couple of years. Out of previous cons I have heard, the only thing that truly bothers me is the smog and air quality problem. Is this something that will truly affect me while I am in my twenties? Also, is this something that deters people from moving to Denver or is it pretty insignificant? Will I even notice a difference in air quality because I am already moving from a big city? Does it tend to affect the entire greater Denver metro area or just downtown?

Thanks!

[Charles]

Did you read any of the previous threads on this topic?

http://www.city-data.com/forum/denve...enver-air.html

http://www.city-data.com/forum/denve...on-denver.html

http://www.city-data.com/forum/denve...allergies.html

[MNLaker]

Sorry thanks for the help

[EscapeCalifornia]

I wouldn't worry about it. The air in Denver is far better than where I'm from and I'm OK.

[POhdNcrzy]

It's a significant but minor concern on the Front Range. Not as bad as LA area, like Escape said.

You will definitely notice it living in Denver, without a doubt. Sometimes the air is clear in Denver, often it's quite foul.

Best thing about air quality on the Front Range is that the predominant wind pattern is a west-by-northwest wind blowing fresh air out of the mountains into the Front Range valleys and blowing the nasty polluted air further out east.

Haven't been to Dinkytown so I can't offer a comparison there....

[vegaspilgrim]

This picture from my CCSP photo tour illustrates what typical smog looks like in Denver.
You can clearly see a thick layer of brown haze that blocks out what would be a crystal clear view of the foothills. The taller peaks in the background are still visible because they are above the inversion layer. I wouldn't not live in Denver just because of this, but it's nothing to downplay either. This photo was taken last Monday at around 11:30 in the morning:



There have been some really bad days, both in the winter and in the summer, when the air in Denver is so foul that it smells like an oil refinery (and nowhere near Commerce City). Fortunately that only happens about two or three days out of the year.