Does your city's smog come alive and choke the innocent?

[Jaye101]

Well, Toronto's does. I have Astma* and they recommend me stay insid e in the summers, bastards.

[ironchapman]

Atlanta's can be "suffocating" at times, but it's not always that bad.

[DiggerD21]

I've never experienced Smog in Hamburg.

[dhuwman]

Seattle's doing fine..
It's located in between the finest natural settings.

[SE9]

There have been several instances of light "smog" in London in the last couple years... but there's never been a "stay inside during summer" type warning issued.

[Tubeman]

We used to get terrible "Pea Soupers" in the 1950's and 60's which were very thick sulphurous smogs responsible for thousands of deaths. They were so thick that rail services were crippled and traffic ground to a halt.

They were the result of every home in London burning coal as well as several large coal-fired power stations in Central London (e.g. Bankside, Battersea) combining with damp, still weather in the Winter. Their severity and the consequent loss of life led to the banning of all solid fuels in london homes.

We now have occasional Summer smogs akin to those of LA or Athens, purely the result of vehicle fumes. Fortunately our weather is fairly changeable so we rarely get more than a week of still air.

Modern-day smog:



A graph showing the peak in deaths during a "Pea Souper" in December 1952; literally thousands could die in a single fog:

[NorthStar77]

Some estimated 400-600 people die in Oslo each year thanks to bad air-quality in the winter, when the air-quality acctually can be as bad as in Mexico City and Cairo. There are several reasons for this:
* cars using iron-knots in their tires is very common at winter. This causes alot of asphalt to turn into unhealthy dust.
* The city is situated in a pot-like landscape, making it difficult for polluted air to escape. Especially when there is no wind, and the air higher up is warmer than the air down in the "Oslo-pot".
* long periods of dry, cold weather makes it especially bad.

This is a photo I took on a cold winter morning on my way to job a couple of years ago.

[dave8721]

Nope, no smog in Miami. The air is never stagnant enough. The wind either blows our pollution west over the Everglades or east over the Ocean. Also it helps that we have little in the way of manufacturing or heavy industry. The only dirty air we ever get is if there is a fire in the everglades and the wind blows out of the west blowing the smoke over the city. Happens about every other year or so.

[m@rco]

Summertime, Grenoble is frequently affected by summer smog episode with exceeded ozone concentrations of 90 ppb per hour (European limit). The city is located at the cross-road of three valleys disposed on an Y shape surrounded by mountains up to 3000 m (ASL).
Thus the air pollution behaviour is strongly influenced by two specifics aspects :
- Complex topography with straight valleys
- Specific circulation of the air masses in the Grenoble Y shape




In winter, another problem occurs: the inversion of temperature. It is a rather frequent phenomenon in winter in the valleys. A layer of cold air is present in the valley, forming a kind of lake of cold air. On the top there is a layer of hotter air. The cold air, heated by its top, tends to stagnate in the valley. It is then formed a stratus, cloud smooth and gray, which can reach the ground (fog). It is the sea of cloud... It avoids any exchange enters the two masses of air. Consequence: increase in pollution in the valley, low temperature. The difference in temperature can reach more 10°C.






"Comparatively with other French agglomerations, Grenoble remains a city marked by its geographical position which returns it in summer sensitive to the ozone formation (required of a strong sunning) but does not deserve its reputation of "the most polluted city of France" any more, dating from the Seventies and then bound to a strong winter industrial pollution.

[mikep]

does chicago and new york get a lot of smog?

[hkskyline]

Hong Kong's smog is getting a lot worse with factories spewing out so many pollutants in neighboring China.

[Davee]

Christchurch, new zealand is bad in the winter. You don't want to go outside at night when it's still and frosty!

[mr_storms]

Los Angeles smog is miserable.
From Harpers.org
Days it takes an adult in Los Angeles to breathe in more air pollution than EPA guidelines recommend for a lifetime: 25

[Ya Mar]

Originally Posted by mikep

does chicago and new york get a lot of smog?

Chicago's smog is not too bad because the Midwest is flat and their is alot of wind and aslo because their is alot of wind coming off the Lake. The Reasons are pretty much the same for New York, all the smog is blowing out into the Atlantic over to all you Euros. Although Both cities have occasions when there is some smog.

[RAS85]

The title of this thread is priceless.

[PotatoGuy]

theres smog here... obviously, but neither me nor anyone i have known have had any issues with it

[goschio]

There is no smog in Townsville. First time since years that I can breath.

[hossoso]

Smog that comes alive and chokes innocent people??!! Jesus Christ!! That sounds really serious. Have you tried to reason with the smog? Sacrifices? If all else fails, I would get the hell out there as soon as possible. Good luck.

[Boris550]

There is little or no smog in Calgary.

[TalB]

The air has gotten cleaner where I live, and that's mainly due to vehicles using unleaded gasoline rather than leaded.