U.S. Air Quality

Haze/Smoke still lingers….

Smoke/haze remains over the Midwest/Central U.S (left image- source: UW MODIS Today USA Composite). Surface PM2.5 concentrations are relatively low (right image – source: EPA AIRNow), which suggests that most of the aerosol is above the Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL). Also, refer to the MODIS and GASP (loop) AOD products for a measure of aerosol intensity. Skies are also hazy over California and the Pacific. Again, I suspect that some of this “haze” is due to long range transport. It is, however, important to note that local fires producing smoke are probably contributing to the elevated PM2.5 concentration levels in the region.