Where SLC's air quality ranked in 2023
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Last year's wildfire season made air quality worse in cities across the country — but not in Utah.
The latest: In 2023, Salt Lake had the 11th-lowest average particulate matter levels, known as PM2.5, of 103 cities reviewed by IQAir, a Swiss air quality technology company.
- Ogden was 9th-lowest and Provo was 12th.
Yes, but: All three cities exceeded levels recommended by the World Health Organization.
The big picture: It's not coincidental that the cities with the worst air quality last year were in the Upper Midwest and Mid-Atlantic, as those regions were smothered in smoke from Canada's unprecedented wildfire season.
The intrigue: Winter inversion still packed a punch last year, with February's air pollution more than three times the WHO's recommended maximum.