Over the past few months, however, air quality has improved significantly with more people staying at home and driving less due to COVID-19 restrictions. The past five years have been some of the warmest years on record globally, so those extreme temperatures, together with droughts, wildfires, certainly add to increased particle pollution. The changing and warming climate plays a big role in this trend. It found that the majority of American cities with the worst air pollution had been in the West. The American Lung Association produces a new report on an annual basis called the “State of the Air”. They also ranked Phoenix as 10 th for short-term particle pollution.
The city ranked 7 th for year-round particle pollution. In 2020, Phoenix was ranked as having some of the worst air quality in the country in the American Lung Association's State of the Air report. Tourism normally plays a vital role in the local economy but like so many other destinations, Arizona saw a lot fewer tourists in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of Phoenix’s industrial manufacturing units include aircraft parts, electronic equipment, agricultural chemicals, radios, air-conditioning equipment and leather goods. From 2016 to 2018, there was a weighted average of 39.8 days that were deemed unhealthy for ozone alone. Historically, ozone levels are always in the “green” healthy category during the winter months.Īccording to the State of the Air report published by the American Lung Association, Maricopa County, of which Phoenix is the county seat, was rated an “F” and ranked 7 thamong 228 included metropolitan areas for high ozone days. In 2019, unhealthy ozone levels only occurred between the dates of 3 rd May and 13 th September. Since ozone is not released directly but rather formed in the atmosphere from other pollutants, it is often considered a difficult pollutant to control.Ībundant sunlight and heat as a requirement for ozone formation mean that Phoenix ozone levels tend to be worse in the summer than in the winter (an opposite trend from Phoenix average pollution levels and PM2.5 levels). Ozone is a gas pollutant formed when nitrogen oxides and organic substances react under sunlight. The greatest challenge to Phoenix air quality is ozone pollution. On average, May and June are Phoenix's cleanest months annually, whilst November and December are the most polluted. Temperature inversions in the winter largely contribute to these months having 2.5 times higher AQI than in the summer months. Phoenix tends to experience cleaner air in the summer and more polluted air in the winter. 2019 saw a very good figure of just 5.6 µg/m³ before it slipped back to 8.4 µg/m³ in 2020. In 2017 the figure was 8.4 µg/m³ followed by 8.6 in 2018. Taking into account the figure from the last four years, it is seen that the air quality is remaining fairly constant. The remaining 9 months of the year saw Phoenix attain the target figure of 10 µg/m³ or less by the WHO. The months of November and January saw an improvement with better figures between 10 and 12 µg/m³.
It would appear that December is the worst month with a recorded figure of 14.5 µg/m³ which classifies it as being “Moderate” with figures between 12.1 and 35.4 µg/m³. Looking back at the figures released on the IQAir website, it can be seen that there is only a slight variation in the records. Is the air quality in Phoenix the same throughout the year? 1 These pollution days resulted in Phoenix failing air pollution attainment for ozone and PM2.5. From 2016 to 2018, there was a weighted average of 46.5 days of unhealthy air. Phoenix’s air quality on average is rated an air quality index (AQI) score of less than 50, or “good.” Despite Phoenix's clean air quality on annual and monthly averages, the city still experiences a number of unhealthy ozone and PM2.5 days.
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With a level as low as this, doors and windows can be opened to allow some fresh air inside and all types of outdoor activity can be enjoyed without fear. The numbers are stated in micrograms per cubic metre. The recorded level of the pollutants was as follows: PM2.5 - 5 µg/m³, PM10 - 18.9 µg/m³ and ozone (O 3) - 89 µg/m³. This classification is in line with the recommendation from the World Health Organisation (WHO). In early 2021, Phoenix was enjoying a period of “Good” quality air with a US AQI reading of just 36. Despite its hot desert-like climate, Phoenix had developed an excellent canal and irrigation system which enabled agricultural-based industries to flourish.
It is located at the confluence of the Gila and Salt Rivers and was first recognised as a city in 1889. With numbers such as these, it comes as no surprise that it is the fifth most populous city in the entire US and the only state capital with a population in excess of 1 million. In 2019 it had an estimated population of almost 1.7 million people. Phoenix is the capital and most populous city in Arizona.
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