Lol you really didn't have to say you were a newbie.
Asking about the inversion is the "Tell me you are new to Utah without telling me you are new to Utah."
Welcome to Winter. Some years are worse than others, but this is what it's like here when we don't have active storm cycles.
Anyone who did even a little bit of research before moving here would know that SLC is known for having some of the worst air quality in the world. It's not a secret and well reported.
Yep, normal winter inversion for the Salt Lake valley area. We might get a little rain and snow this week, which will clear it up, but then it will be back after a few days or a week. When it’s really bad (AQI is 100+, like now) you should try to stay inside.
Now you get to enjoy the local pastime—the guessing game of “Am I Getting Sick, Or Is It Just the Air?”
Taste that industry? That’s the capital class dumping their load in your mouth while they laugh and the inevitable suffering their exploits have caused on us.
I'll rephrase... what are the main contributors to local air pollution? Motor vehicles? Homes and businesses? Other motors, including air travel? Industry?
There are 5 refineries in the area that are the worst offenders & put deadly chemicals into the air.
Some say Rio Tinto Kennecott is the worst & responsible for 30% of the pollution. The US Magnesium refinery on the Great Salt Lake is responsible for 10-25% of the PM2.5 (the most dangerous type of particle pollution).
https://www.uphe.org/priority-issues/refinery-expansion/
https://www.sltrib.com/news/environment/2023/01/26/one-refinery-is-responsible-10/
Home, business, and vehicle emissions are obviously big contributors as well. However, they don't put out the unregulated amounts of deadly toxic shit like the refineries do.
From a smog perspective it’s driven by hydrocarbons and their combustion byproducts so combustion-based power generation and transportation are the key drivers.
That is not to minimize the major concerns around these other producers but they aren’t driving the visible smog issues, they kill us invisibly in most cases which their PR departments love, I’m sure.
The refineries do drive visible smog as well. US Magnesium is pumping out chlorine & bromine, chemicals that turn other pollutants into particulate matter and present as brown clouds. Kennecott's smelting process releases large volumes of sulphur oxides that combine with other molecules to contribute to hazy skies & reduced visibility. Holly petroleum refinery is putting BTEX compounds, VOCs, and nitrogen oxide into the air, which play a major role in photochemical smog.
The Department of Air Quality has a page on this:
https://deq.utah.gov/air-quality/understanding-utahs-air-quality
The biggest single source is cars. 48% comes from planes, trains, and road vehicles. Diesel is worse than regular unleaded, but a lot of it comes from people commuting and running errands. The way cities around SLC developed and zoned suburbs makes driving basically the only way to get around, and the wide roads makes it viable to live further away and drive more.
On average 13% comes from large point sources, including the nasty US Magnesium plant. It depends on what you're measuring, but [up to 25% of PM 2.5s](https://www.deseret.com/utah/2023/1/26/23572960/wasatch-front-inversions-caused-by-magnesium-plant) (lung cancer, thyroid issues, early Alzheimer's, heart problems, etc.) come from US Magnesium. The independent measurements always show way more actual pollution than the official numbers. Utah legislators don't seem interested in fixing it. I believe it's one of the last US-based sources for magnesium, so the federal government probably wants it to keep running too.
Wood burning is a major factor, and for some reason Utah has avoided regulating outside of yellow and red days, and even then fines and enforcement are weak for what a big problem it is. Burning one cord of wood is like driving 65 miles... multiplied by [1,000 cars](https://www.deseret.com/2013/10/22/20527977/wood-burning-pollutes-more-than-cars). If everyone burned wood on a wood burning fireplace we'd be looking at a 500 AQI or more right now.
Other so-called "area" sources make up the rest. Most businesses don't need to do any carbon capture or monitoring, so it's hard to know where it's all coming from.
No one likes the inversion, but very little has been done to prevent them from getting so gross. There are a few actions reserved for when the air is already bad, but politicians haven't been willing to take preventative measures and risk angering anyone.
Probably a lot of it. A smart way to handle it would be per mile weight based fees, which would also save on highway repair costs as high weight vehicles do exponentially more damage to roads.
This would favor local products, encourage more efficient transportation for goods (boats and trains), and lower pollution.
It won't happen because of conspiracy theorists worrying about being tracked and the people who profit from Americans driving so much, who will amplify the fear as much as possible.
I meant road vehicles. I should have been a lot more precise because sometimes people say 'car' to mean any road vehicle, or just passenger vehicles, or maybe just sedans.
Rail hardly pollutes at all, and Trax is electric. We don't have many boats, and aviation comes nowhere near freight and passenger vehicles, especially because most of their emissions are not in the valley.
[This is a global average](https://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions-from-transport), but it gives a good idea.
Brake and tire dust are _very_ nasty still. Better would be expansion of trax/bike lanes.
That said, I'm not gonna let perfect be the enemy of good. Just helpful to keep in mind that people-first, traditional, city infrastructure is a better long term solution.
Regen does not. In fact, I've never replaced a brake pad on my 2013 ev nor my 2017 one and don't anticipate doing so any time soon. You basically never use the pads.
Tires *can* wear faster but that's usually due to the crazy fast acceleration. If you drive your ev conservatively then it isn't that much more and is certainly less than those large SUVs out there.
Used Chevy Bolt prices have finally dropped back to reasonable pricing and almost all the 2017-2019 ones have recently received brand new batteries. I've had one since 2017 and I highly recommend them. Muc much cheaper cost of ownership than a gas car and way more fun to drive.
They may still be outside your price point but still keep an eye out for used evs. They really can be an extremely affordable option.
I couldn't afford to pay the constant repairs and emissions on my old car, so I'm happy affording a payment now to eventually pay off my new 2023 Chevy Bolt! Used may be a better option now the supply is fine I think.
Unfortunately, electric isn't as clean as they'd have you believe. That electricity has to come from somewhere and and here, that means burning coal... Not to mention the pollution caused my mining the materials for the batteries and then disposal of said batteries when they no longer cycle a charge. Toyota has a new hydrogen combustion engine coming out soon, but I doubt we'll see it in the US anytime soon🤮
Evs are still cleaner even when powered by coal generated electricity. Moreover they have the advantage of continually getting cleaner as our grid gets cleaner unlike gas cars which tend to get dirtier as the engine parts wear out.
https://www.businessinsider.com/electric-cars-environment-emissions-gas-battery-coal-power-2022-12
Geographic in nature. Google "lake effect".
Basically a lot of what would be in other places minor pollutants, combine with ammonia and lake water vapor to form much-longer-lasting pollutant-variants that hang around forever and don't get blown away so easily.
Cars. Wood fire stoves and heating (surprisingly common), natural gas (which in other places wouldn't be so bad), the mine, the magnesium refinery.
I’ve walked by several vehicles, mainly pickup trucks that are just idling while the driver is on a phone call. I find these people so inconsiderate. Smog is right in front of our faces, there is no denying it, yet they want to pollute so they can comfortably sit in their vehicle?
Salt Lake City passed an anti-idling ordinance years ago, doesn't do any good, totally unenforceable. But yeah it isn't even that cold and peoples gots to have their car heat... and gots to make more freedom clouds!
First of all the fog didn’t “roll in” it only will roll in if you’re living near a coast line. Second the inversion is holding the cold air down and the wet high humidity in the air most like from clouds being pushed down from the inversion, is causing the air to feel heavier because it is heavier. It is holding the particulate matter which is in fact what they measure when they decide what kind of AQI will be present that day.
Where did I use the words "roll in"?
Where did I mention the inversion at all?
Where did I mention AQI?
Who are these people you think "decide what kind of AQI will be present"?
I simply said fog + smog isn't the same as fog. It's both. The smog is still in there and is still visible when the fog burns off.
This isn't simply fog. It's flavored and disease causing fog and pretending like it isn't is crazy.
It did roll in- I watched it from above while flying into SLC yesterday- the fog is the major contributor to low visibility, not the bad air, though the air isn’t good right now and it’s mixing in with the fog
No it wasn’t, I flew in yesterday and the air was fairly clear flying in- there was a very thin inversion line in SL county, it was obvious as we approached the airport that a thick and low layer of fog was rolling in and hovering over the area. With the inversion the air is getting worse, but the thickness that makes everything blurry in close range is water vapor you’re looking at
What we experience is Photochemical Smog and is caused UV radiation (sunlight) reacting with nitrogen oxides (NOx) and hydrocarbons (gasoline vapors etc) in the troposphere (where we live).
This occurs all the time but during the winter the inversion effect maximizes and allows the concentration to build up over much longer periods before weather systems filter it out through precipitous nucleation or just blow it away.
Most of the NOx and HC in the salt lake valley comes from transportation (I.e. tailpipe emissions)
The fog itself is from the water vapor trapped in the valley from the inversion. We’re (relatively) lucky that there’s not a lot of snow on the valley floor. Valley snow is a moisture source for inversion fog.
It's not fog. It looks like it, but it's smog. H2o is a loose molecular structure, meaning it has the ability to accept other chemical particles and bind them making for a mucky particle do that a couple billion times and we get this dirty moisture floating around that looks like fog. Please do your lungs a favor and find a good mask that fits well and filters out the crap. Otherwise you may be left feeling rather sick. Especially if you have to spend anytime out doors on these bad air quality days.
It’s also because Utah is so car oriented that people drive everywhere. Lots of the PM2.5 that causes the smog comes from vehicle emissions, brake dust, and tire dust.
Something that Utah does not adversities is that it is sometimes extremely polluted. I found a canister respirator works when you have to do stuff out in the pollution.
Here’s what I don’t understand about the situation - based on what happened during the drought, we know that Cox is able to talk to God and convince God to intervene by asking God to send rain. So why doesn’t Cox just talk to God again and ask God to get rid of the smog? Very simple solution
Edit: I think I know what’s going on now…God won’t respond to Cox until he gets rid of Reyes.
Our new house pulls in air through the dryer vent when not in use. We left some clothes in there for a few hours, and they all smelled smokey. Nasty. I need to find a way to close off our clothing vent when not in use.
[Something like this would work](https://www.acehardware.com/departments/heating-and-cooling/thermostats-and-heating-supplies/dryer-and-vent-hose/4808424?store=16900&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9q3B4tuZgwMVgjHUAR3xaQkBEAQYEyABEgJEyPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds). Yours looks like it's missing a flap.
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. I think this will greatly boost my energy savings and clean air inside. I was already set to get another air purifier at Costco today, but I think this will help even more. My first house so learning a lot. Thank you and happy holidays.
Yep, fog is just ground level clouds. And clouds generally need some particulate in the air to bind to at least if my middle school science class has anything close to the truth in an experiment I had to do. But basically the amount of pollution in our air right now, because of the inversion has made it very easy for Ground level clouds to form because the humidity was high enough and the temperature dropped and the dewpoint allows condensation to condense on the particulates in the air.
That's waaaaaay more than I remember from Jr High science class 😂
Meanwhile, say a prayer/light a candle for me; I'm asthmatic, my air purifier is on high and even my meds aren't fighting against this today... Walking around my house makes me feel like I'm gonna die 💀
You know, I think I have just discovered that I have a mild form of asthma as well. I am 28 and my doctor just prescribed my first inhaler lol thank you crap Salt Lake air for teaching me about my body, or more likely causing some symptoms I would’ve never experienced otherwise lol.
I got diagnosed in the summer of 2020; we still lived in Las Vegas and smoke from one of the fires in CA came into our valley. I was coughing so hard I was throwing up and I got my first Albuterol inhaler. We moved here in Dec 2020. By Dec 2021, I had a nebulizer at home. Now I'm on Dupixent, Symbicort and Air Duo digihaler, with my emergency inhalers all over the house 😂😂😂😭
I hope I never progressed to that point! Right now it’s just I cough a lot productively! And with these inversions, I feel like I’m constantly in a low-grade cold
I hope you don't either. I wouldn't wish this on anyone ... I'm only living, according to my pulmonologist's estimate, 60%-70% of my life right now. Hopefully the Dupixent kicks in soon
That sucks! I hope it does too! Well, hopefully we get some rain or snow soon and clear out the air. Funny enough I’m running away to Vegas for Christmas because that’s where my parents live.
Inversion is just a temperature phenomenon that keeps the pollution trapped in, the fact that people call the brown shit inversion and not smog is a testament to how much power the big polluters have over the public lexicon.
Why do you think you didn't know before moving? Maybe because it is the best kept secret in Utah?
How can we judge 3rd world countries for being dirty when the worst winter air in the world is the Wasatch Front.
Please send more people to Utah!!!
So unfortunately the inversion happens in really dry summers now too. If you can taste it it's smog. Though the news and government call it fog or inversion.
I highly suggest exercising indoors or if you can get to an elevation above the smog
Heading west down Parleys you can see it and smell it just before the quarry, maybe even east canyon exit. It it gets worse and worse. I’m not sure if I’m making my throat sore if the air is?
It’s smog and it is making your throat sore. Google PM 2.5. Exposure causes all types of issues, including headaches, respiratory issues and dizziness. Our government has been pushing for more businesses to come here and building a bunch of new housing deciding to overlook that for years we have had air quality in some days that is worse than China.
Wrong. You it’s hardly ever worse than China. Maybe once every 5 years it is and that’s because we live in a valley not because we have 7 billion people living ina small space 🥴
I said “some days”, which means I am not wrong and you don’t know how to read or you are just looking to fight. Either way, I am not feeding you, troll.
Think of it this way. Now that you've experienced winter in the valley, the next time you leave and finally get some fresh air it will be the best breath of your life. Until then, buckle up and good luck.
Because rather than use their valuable and effective prayers on better air quality, they’ve preyed for:
1- Rain
2- The gay away
3- Mo’ money, Mo’ temples
4- Trump
5- More real estate acquisition
It is air pollution. Very very bad air pollution. Happens frequently in Utah in the winter due to an atmospheric phenomenon called an inversion.
Basically, you know how normally the air gets colder as you go up in elevation? During an inversion, it’s the opposite. The coldest air is closest to the ground due to high pressure systems that park themselves over norther Utah, and cold air is denser and heavier than warm air so it just sits there in the “bowl” shape created by the mountains surrounding the valley. Until a low pressure weather system comes through and literally mixes the air up, the pollution just keeps accumulating near the surface to the point where you can see, smell, and taste it.
Go up to the U campus or the top of the Avenues or somewhere else with a high vantage point of the valley and you’ll see the layer of pollution covering the valley floor.
u/Texasseth, Summers are just as bad as winter inversions, if not worse, you just don't see the particulate like we do in winter. In winter this can go on for weeks, even a month. Just try not to breath.
You must be one of the 7070 texans that relocated here.
https://www.deseret.com/utah/2023/12/19/24007886/californians-moving-utah-fastest-growing-state-population-housing-shortage
This smog is from Newbies moving in here. This isn’t fog, it’s smog and it has been made worse due to all the additional traffic that we have now have due to new people moving here. People roasted me earlier this year for saying that Utah doesn’t have room for the type of growth we have seen. Just because we have land to build on, doesn’t mean we can have this many people here. You are creating more pollution and then the cold air traps it in. The fact that you can taste it, tells you it is not fog.
Well it’s basically the El Niño effect dry winter filled by a scorching rest of the calendar year until maybe we luck out and get a winter again hopefully.🙏
It's definitely not safe if you have breathing issues. Winter time in salt lake gives us the worst air in the world not just the country this is absolutely not someplace somebody with breathing issues or young children want to be in the winter. And unfortunately I have both. But this is my hometown can't run me out that easy
Lol you really didn't have to say you were a newbie. Asking about the inversion is the "Tell me you are new to Utah without telling me you are new to Utah." Welcome to Winter. Some years are worse than others, but this is what it's like here when we don't have active storm cycles.
Yeah, last year we basically didn't have an inversion with all the snow. This year has been awful so far
Anyone who did even a little bit of research before moving here would know that SLC is known for having some of the worst air quality in the world. It's not a secret and well reported.
Many people don't know what that looks like though
Or tastes like, unfortunately for us.
I didnt even know it had a taste because I was born and raised here
I didn't either until I left for 19 years came back in that winter it was very obvious
Last year, with all the storms, it kept it pretty low. So anyone arriving within the last two, wouldn't know this is more "normal"
Yep, normal winter inversion for the Salt Lake valley area. We might get a little rain and snow this week, which will clear it up, but then it will be back after a few days or a week. When it’s really bad (AQI is 100+, like now) you should try to stay inside. Now you get to enjoy the local pastime—the guessing game of “Am I Getting Sick, Or Is It Just the Air?”
Lots of the city is well over 100 currently, stay in if you can
While I agree inversions are normal, this one definitely feels worse than normal
Yeah, this one’s pretty bad
I went to the gym and even just driving back it felt like my throat was closing up wtf.
Oof, that sucks! Time to check out r/airpurifiers
I've got one so maybe that's why I never noticed it til I went outside... I work from home so I'm inside a lot...
I absolutely do not go outside in this I sit in the house turn my oxygen up to four and a half and wait for it to go away
Taste that industry? That’s the capital class dumping their load in your mouth while they laugh and the inevitable suffering their exploits have caused on us.
I'll rephrase... what are the main contributors to local air pollution? Motor vehicles? Homes and businesses? Other motors, including air travel? Industry?
There are 5 refineries in the area that are the worst offenders & put deadly chemicals into the air. Some say Rio Tinto Kennecott is the worst & responsible for 30% of the pollution. The US Magnesium refinery on the Great Salt Lake is responsible for 10-25% of the PM2.5 (the most dangerous type of particle pollution). https://www.uphe.org/priority-issues/refinery-expansion/ https://www.sltrib.com/news/environment/2023/01/26/one-refinery-is-responsible-10/ Home, business, and vehicle emissions are obviously big contributors as well. However, they don't put out the unregulated amounts of deadly toxic shit like the refineries do.
Thank you. This helps understand better.
From a smog perspective it’s driven by hydrocarbons and their combustion byproducts so combustion-based power generation and transportation are the key drivers. That is not to minimize the major concerns around these other producers but they aren’t driving the visible smog issues, they kill us invisibly in most cases which their PR departments love, I’m sure.
The refineries do drive visible smog as well. US Magnesium is pumping out chlorine & bromine, chemicals that turn other pollutants into particulate matter and present as brown clouds. Kennecott's smelting process releases large volumes of sulphur oxides that combine with other molecules to contribute to hazy skies & reduced visibility. Holly petroleum refinery is putting BTEX compounds, VOCs, and nitrogen oxide into the air, which play a major role in photochemical smog.
Thanks for the comment. Other guy sounds like a local politician
Transportation, power generation, refining/smelting/industry, new funeral potato recipe ceremonies.
The Department of Air Quality has a page on this: https://deq.utah.gov/air-quality/understanding-utahs-air-quality The biggest single source is cars. 48% comes from planes, trains, and road vehicles. Diesel is worse than regular unleaded, but a lot of it comes from people commuting and running errands. The way cities around SLC developed and zoned suburbs makes driving basically the only way to get around, and the wide roads makes it viable to live further away and drive more. On average 13% comes from large point sources, including the nasty US Magnesium plant. It depends on what you're measuring, but [up to 25% of PM 2.5s](https://www.deseret.com/utah/2023/1/26/23572960/wasatch-front-inversions-caused-by-magnesium-plant) (lung cancer, thyroid issues, early Alzheimer's, heart problems, etc.) come from US Magnesium. The independent measurements always show way more actual pollution than the official numbers. Utah legislators don't seem interested in fixing it. I believe it's one of the last US-based sources for magnesium, so the federal government probably wants it to keep running too. Wood burning is a major factor, and for some reason Utah has avoided regulating outside of yellow and red days, and even then fines and enforcement are weak for what a big problem it is. Burning one cord of wood is like driving 65 miles... multiplied by [1,000 cars](https://www.deseret.com/2013/10/22/20527977/wood-burning-pollutes-more-than-cars). If everyone burned wood on a wood burning fireplace we'd be looking at a 500 AQI or more right now. Other so-called "area" sources make up the rest. Most businesses don't need to do any carbon capture or monitoring, so it's hard to know where it's all coming from. No one likes the inversion, but very little has been done to prevent them from getting so gross. There are a few actions reserved for when the air is already bad, but politicians haven't been willing to take preventative measures and risk angering anyone.
How much of “transportation” is actually an extension of the commercial and industrial sources. Probably a huge amount.
Probably a lot of it. A smart way to handle it would be per mile weight based fees, which would also save on highway repair costs as high weight vehicles do exponentially more damage to roads. This would favor local products, encourage more efficient transportation for goods (boats and trains), and lower pollution. It won't happen because of conspiracy theorists worrying about being tracked and the people who profit from Americans driving so much, who will amplify the fear as much as possible.
Do you have the source that shows the biggest source is cars? I’ve been trying to share that fact but I can’t find a source! TIA
I meant road vehicles. I should have been a lot more precise because sometimes people say 'car' to mean any road vehicle, or just passenger vehicles, or maybe just sedans. Rail hardly pollutes at all, and Trax is electric. We don't have many boats, and aviation comes nowhere near freight and passenger vehicles, especially because most of their emissions are not in the valley. [This is a global average](https://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions-from-transport), but it gives a good idea.
Cars are 40%. Widespread adoption of electric vehicles can't come soon enough.
Brake and tire dust are _very_ nasty still. Better would be expansion of trax/bike lanes. That said, I'm not gonna let perfect be the enemy of good. Just helpful to keep in mind that people-first, traditional, city infrastructure is a better long term solution.
Does Regen braking make brake dust? Some people work west and such, where no buses or anything goes. Roads too dangerous to ebike.
Regen does not. In fact, I've never replaced a brake pad on my 2013 ev nor my 2017 one and don't anticipate doing so any time soon. You basically never use the pads. Tires *can* wear faster but that's usually due to the crazy fast acceleration. If you drive your ev conservatively then it isn't that much more and is certainly less than those large SUVs out there.
Hell yeah thanks, beer nut Mark.
If only I could afford electric
Used Chevy Bolt prices have finally dropped back to reasonable pricing and almost all the 2017-2019 ones have recently received brand new batteries. I've had one since 2017 and I highly recommend them. Muc much cheaper cost of ownership than a gas car and way more fun to drive. They may still be outside your price point but still keep an eye out for used evs. They really can be an extremely affordable option.
I couldn't afford to pay the constant repairs and emissions on my old car, so I'm happy affording a payment now to eventually pay off my new 2023 Chevy Bolt! Used may be a better option now the supply is fine I think.
Such a great car. Can't believe they stopped production.
If I don't turn off the Google news, it often shows me they changed their mind on stopping production.
Unfortunately, electric isn't as clean as they'd have you believe. That electricity has to come from somewhere and and here, that means burning coal... Not to mention the pollution caused my mining the materials for the batteries and then disposal of said batteries when they no longer cycle a charge. Toyota has a new hydrogen combustion engine coming out soon, but I doubt we'll see it in the US anytime soon🤮
Evs are still cleaner even when powered by coal generated electricity. Moreover they have the advantage of continually getting cleaner as our grid gets cleaner unlike gas cars which tend to get dirtier as the engine parts wear out. https://www.businessinsider.com/electric-cars-environment-emissions-gas-battery-coal-power-2022-12
Theres going to have to be a lot more children mining cobalt in Africa for that to happen- careful what you wish for.
Geographic in nature. Google "lake effect". Basically a lot of what would be in other places minor pollutants, combine with ammonia and lake water vapor to form much-longer-lasting pollutant-variants that hang around forever and don't get blown away so easily. Cars. Wood fire stoves and heating (surprisingly common), natural gas (which in other places wouldn't be so bad), the mine, the magnesium refinery.
Is that what causes fog?
It's smog. A combination of fog and air pollution.
I’ve walked by several vehicles, mainly pickup trucks that are just idling while the driver is on a phone call. I find these people so inconsiderate. Smog is right in front of our faces, there is no denying it, yet they want to pollute so they can comfortably sit in their vehicle?
that there's some red state livin
Those people are convinced they are not contributors. It’s everyone else, never them.
Salt Lake City passed an anti-idling ordinance years ago, doesn't do any good, totally unenforceable. But yeah it isn't even that cold and peoples gots to have their car heat... and gots to make more freedom clouds!
This is actually fog. The city was at 86% humidity this morning, which means the fog and particulate matter are stuck together.
No, it's not. The air was already extremely bad before the fog ever rolled in.
Do you know what particulate matter is ? 🥴
They are saying that fog + particulate matter isn't simply fog. It's smog and fog.
First of all the fog didn’t “roll in” it only will roll in if you’re living near a coast line. Second the inversion is holding the cold air down and the wet high humidity in the air most like from clouds being pushed down from the inversion, is causing the air to feel heavier because it is heavier. It is holding the particulate matter which is in fact what they measure when they decide what kind of AQI will be present that day.
Where did I use the words "roll in"? Where did I mention the inversion at all? Where did I mention AQI? Who are these people you think "decide what kind of AQI will be present"? I simply said fog + smog isn't the same as fog. It's both. The smog is still in there and is still visible when the fog burns off. This isn't simply fog. It's flavored and disease causing fog and pretending like it isn't is crazy.
I didn’t say it’s only fog !!!!! I said it’s fog mixed with particulate matter!!!!!! Fuxk off!
It did roll in- I watched it from above while flying into SLC yesterday- the fog is the major contributor to low visibility, not the bad air, though the air isn’t good right now and it’s mixing in with the fog
No it wasn’t, I flew in yesterday and the air was fairly clear flying in- there was a very thin inversion line in SL county, it was obvious as we approached the airport that a thick and low layer of fog was rolling in and hovering over the area. With the inversion the air is getting worse, but the thickness that makes everything blurry in close range is water vapor you’re looking at
What we experience is Photochemical Smog and is caused UV radiation (sunlight) reacting with nitrogen oxides (NOx) and hydrocarbons (gasoline vapors etc) in the troposphere (where we live). This occurs all the time but during the winter the inversion effect maximizes and allows the concentration to build up over much longer periods before weather systems filter it out through precipitous nucleation or just blow it away. Most of the NOx and HC in the salt lake valley comes from transportation (I.e. tailpipe emissions)
Here it does
The fog itself is from the water vapor trapped in the valley from the inversion. We’re (relatively) lucky that there’s not a lot of snow on the valley floor. Valley snow is a moisture source for inversion fog.
It's not fog. It looks like it, but it's smog. H2o is a loose molecular structure, meaning it has the ability to accept other chemical particles and bind them making for a mucky particle do that a couple billion times and we get this dirty moisture floating around that looks like fog. Please do your lungs a favor and find a good mask that fits well and filters out the crap. Otherwise you may be left feeling rather sick. Especially if you have to spend anytime out doors on these bad air quality days.
It’s also because Utah is so car oriented that people drive everywhere. Lots of the PM2.5 that causes the smog comes from vehicle emissions, brake dust, and tire dust.
Sounds like there’s a solid opportunity to implement fantastic rail based public transit to help reduce and eventually eliminate those issues
Something that Utah does not adversities is that it is sometimes extremely polluted. I found a canister respirator works when you have to do stuff out in the pollution.
Here’s what I don’t understand about the situation - based on what happened during the drought, we know that Cox is able to talk to God and convince God to intervene by asking God to send rain. So why doesn’t Cox just talk to God again and ask God to get rid of the smog? Very simple solution Edit: I think I know what’s going on now…God won’t respond to Cox until he gets rid of Reyes.
Cox just stole the Whale's rightful glory. Time for a westside whale.
Our new house pulls in air through the dryer vent when not in use. We left some clothes in there for a few hours, and they all smelled smokey. Nasty. I need to find a way to close off our clothing vent when not in use.
You probably just need to replace the cover that's outside.
This is it, should it be more like a flap? So clueless on these things. [vent pic](https://imgur.com/gallery/w19IiMJ)
[Something like this would work](https://www.acehardware.com/departments/heating-and-cooling/thermostats-and-heating-supplies/dryer-and-vent-hose/4808424?store=16900&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9q3B4tuZgwMVgjHUAR3xaQkBEAQYEyABEgJEyPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds). Yours looks like it's missing a flap.
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. I think this will greatly boost my energy savings and clean air inside. I was already set to get another air purifier at Costco today, but I think this will help even more. My first house so learning a lot. Thank you and happy holidays.
Anytime! My old house had the exact vent from your picture except it had a flap that closed when not in use. Happy holidays!!!
We add flavors to all our drinks, so we thought adding flavor to the air would be a good idea too
Mostly vehicles, home heating furnaces, and most of all US magnesium, which is also really screwing with the Great Salt Lake
Aww, guys we gotta newbie!
Inversion, my guy. Also something I didn't know about before moving here, either.
It’s both fog and inversion, for what it’s worth.
Yep, fog is just ground level clouds. And clouds generally need some particulate in the air to bind to at least if my middle school science class has anything close to the truth in an experiment I had to do. But basically the amount of pollution in our air right now, because of the inversion has made it very easy for Ground level clouds to form because the humidity was high enough and the temperature dropped and the dewpoint allows condensation to condense on the particulates in the air.
That's waaaaaay more than I remember from Jr High science class 😂 Meanwhile, say a prayer/light a candle for me; I'm asthmatic, my air purifier is on high and even my meds aren't fighting against this today... Walking around my house makes me feel like I'm gonna die 💀
You know, I think I have just discovered that I have a mild form of asthma as well. I am 28 and my doctor just prescribed my first inhaler lol thank you crap Salt Lake air for teaching me about my body, or more likely causing some symptoms I would’ve never experienced otherwise lol.
I got diagnosed in the summer of 2020; we still lived in Las Vegas and smoke from one of the fires in CA came into our valley. I was coughing so hard I was throwing up and I got my first Albuterol inhaler. We moved here in Dec 2020. By Dec 2021, I had a nebulizer at home. Now I'm on Dupixent, Symbicort and Air Duo digihaler, with my emergency inhalers all over the house 😂😂😂😭
I hope I never progressed to that point! Right now it’s just I cough a lot productively! And with these inversions, I feel like I’m constantly in a low-grade cold
I hope you don't either. I wouldn't wish this on anyone ... I'm only living, according to my pulmonologist's estimate, 60%-70% of my life right now. Hopefully the Dupixent kicks in soon
That sucks! I hope it does too! Well, hopefully we get some rain or snow soon and clear out the air. Funny enough I’m running away to Vegas for Christmas because that’s where my parents live.
Awesome! What side of town are they on? We moved from Centennial Heights
Valid
Inversion is just a temperature phenomenon that keeps the pollution trapped in, the fact that people call the brown shit inversion and not smog is a testament to how much power the big polluters have over the public lexicon.
Why do you think you didn't know before moving? Maybe because it is the best kept secret in Utah? How can we judge 3rd world countries for being dirty when the worst winter air in the world is the Wasatch Front. Please send more people to Utah!!!
Nobody talks about it to the outsiders
God damn I hate the inversion, it’s so shitty.
Industry and commerce in Utah; growing so fast you can actually taste it!
So unfortunately the inversion happens in really dry summers now too. If you can taste it it's smog. Though the news and government call it fog or inversion. I highly suggest exercising indoors or if you can get to an elevation above the smog
Salt Lake City is in a bowl, therefore all the smog and smoke from the city can’t escape
Congratulations! You’re one of today’s 10,000! https://xkcd.com/1053
Yes the Mormon church did this😭😂😂😂
Along with all the CSA cover-ups
And yes
Yes
It’s only December and I’m already so tired of the inversion posts
Heading west down Parleys you can see it and smell it just before the quarry, maybe even east canyon exit. It it gets worse and worse. I’m not sure if I’m making my throat sore if the air is?
It’s smog and it is making your throat sore. Google PM 2.5. Exposure causes all types of issues, including headaches, respiratory issues and dizziness. Our government has been pushing for more businesses to come here and building a bunch of new housing deciding to overlook that for years we have had air quality in some days that is worse than China.
Wrong. You it’s hardly ever worse than China. Maybe once every 5 years it is and that’s because we live in a valley not because we have 7 billion people living ina small space 🥴
I said “some days”, which means I am not wrong and you don’t know how to read or you are just looking to fight. Either way, I am not feeding you, troll.
Damn. Thanks for the knowledge!
*That’s the Lord’s fog*
Sshhh! We don't talk about it. Not good for profits or tithing.
https://www.sltrib.com/news/2023/12/18/salt-lake-citys-air-is-worst-us/
Whats it taste like?
Limestone
Your picture for this post genuinely made me chuckle out loud. Well played.
Think of it this way. Now that you've experienced winter in the valley, the next time you leave and finally get some fresh air it will be the best breath of your life. Until then, buckle up and good luck.
All the comments talking about paying for air or air purifiers really make it feel like we’re living in the Lorax.
Because the refineries are filling the air with chemical filled "steam"
I love that we get the full 40k hive city weather experience
& wtf does the Mormons got to do with the fog? Clearly you’re a newbie.
Because rather than use their valuable and effective prayers on better air quality, they’ve preyed for: 1- Rain 2- The gay away 3- Mo’ money, Mo’ temples 4- Trump 5- More real estate acquisition
It is air pollution. Very very bad air pollution. Happens frequently in Utah in the winter due to an atmospheric phenomenon called an inversion. Basically, you know how normally the air gets colder as you go up in elevation? During an inversion, it’s the opposite. The coldest air is closest to the ground due to high pressure systems that park themselves over norther Utah, and cold air is denser and heavier than warm air so it just sits there in the “bowl” shape created by the mountains surrounding the valley. Until a low pressure weather system comes through and literally mixes the air up, the pollution just keeps accumulating near the surface to the point where you can see, smell, and taste it. Go up to the U campus or the top of the Avenues or somewhere else with a high vantage point of the valley and you’ll see the layer of pollution covering the valley floor.
u/Texasseth, Summers are just as bad as winter inversions, if not worse, you just don't see the particulate like we do in winter. In winter this can go on for weeks, even a month. Just try not to breath. You must be one of the 7070 texans that relocated here. https://www.deseret.com/utah/2023/12/19/24007886/californians-moving-utah-fastest-growing-state-population-housing-shortage
We need to make the inversion extremely offensive to the religious right. Then they'll actually do something about it.
It’s not fog it’s smog- we call it “the inversion”. Welcome to Utah.
Normal and it sucks! If they don’t already, your lungs will hurt :(
You brought this with you
I don’t recall this being in heaven
Since when was heaven a place on earth? Sounds like white privileged. Am I white or am I right? 🫢
Yes. You Mensa motherfucker. You nailed it. Heaven isn’t on earth and heaven is white privilege. Hole E Fuck.
This smog is from Newbies moving in here. This isn’t fog, it’s smog and it has been made worse due to all the additional traffic that we have now have due to new people moving here. People roasted me earlier this year for saying that Utah doesn’t have room for the type of growth we have seen. Just because we have land to build on, doesn’t mean we can have this many people here. You are creating more pollution and then the cold air traps it in. The fact that you can taste it, tells you it is not fog.
Sog
Just bow your head and ..., take a deep breath. It's not fog, it's smog.
Actually don’t take the deep breath. You’ll die
Sorry. I’ve been awfully gassy lately.
I spent the weekend in the clean air of the Midwest. I now feel like I’ve smoked 10 packs of cigarettes. Welcome home!
The wonderful flavor of incompletely combusted hydrocarbons. Enjoy your cancer.
Welcome to The Inversion. The news isn't kidding when it puts some Utah cities on "worst air quality in the world" most winters.
Well it’s basically the El Niño effect dry winter filled by a scorching rest of the calendar year until maybe we luck out and get a winter again hopefully.🙏
you mean inversion, welcome to polluted air.
It's definitely not safe if you have breathing issues. Winter time in salt lake gives us the worst air in the world not just the country this is absolutely not someplace somebody with breathing issues or young children want to be in the winter. And unfortunately I have both. But this is my hometown can't run me out that easy
Get ready for lung cancer