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Why It’s So Confusing to Determine Air Quality in Los Angeles Right Now
Calculating air pollution from wildfires and other events has become more complicated. That doesn’t mean it’s necessarily more accurate.
And a wider variety of calculations and dashboards have emerged in recent years as the effects of climate change, including more severe wildfires and pollen blooms, prompted a gush of investment from Google, small startups, and researchers into generating air quality metrics to help people anticipate and avoid dangerous conditions. In recent days, scouring the various services to identify a breathable spot in Los Angeles was particularly challenging because of the sheer number of fires burning across the county, which is dotted with valleys that can create pockets of poor air quality. Jennifer Richmond-Bryant, an associate professor of forestry and environmental resources at North Carolina State University who has studied PurpleAir sensors, says the safest bet for anyone concerned about air quality is to trust the highest number or color level among different services.
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