Feb 15, 2024 - News
Chart du jour: Worsening air quality
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Air quality in Utah is set to decline in the next three decades due to an increase in prolonged wildfire seasons in the West, heat waves and drought, according to a recent report.
Zoom in: New research from the nonprofit First Street Foundation is part of a hyperlocal air quality model showing shifts down to the property level between 2024 and 2054, Axios' Andrew Freedman reports.
- Its conclusions flow from methods contained in three peer-reviewed studies published by the coauthors. The report itself is not peer reviewed, however.
What it found: The study finds that climate change is increasing the prevalence of two of the air pollutants most harmful to human health: particulate matter, commonly referred to as PM2.5, and tropospheric ozone.
- PM2.5 are tiny particles emitted by vehicles, power plants, wildfires and other sources. They can get lodged in people's lungs and enter the bloodstream, causing or exacerbating numerous health problems.