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Since the beginning of the Camp Fire, which is just east of Chico, we have seen the flames, the devastation and the smoke.
Up and down the Golden State, a thick blanket of smoke has affected millions and you may have wondered, how bad can this get? The answer for some of us is, not much worse.
To understand air quality, you have to understand the international scale used to measure how bad it is. It's called the Air Quality Index and is a basic scale that tries to convey levels of air pollution on a simple scale from 0-500. It does technically go to 1,000, but it rarely ever gets that high, however, it has risen above 600 in Northern California multiple times.
There are different particle sizes, and compounds that are placed on the AQI scale, like small particles, larger particles like dust, and ozone which is the main component of smog. It's important to mention that this comparison only looks at smoke pollution known as PM 2.5.
We have seen multiple locations in Northern California peak above 500 on the smoke AQI scale and Monday morning, Chico recorded at least one reading of 677, with similar readings nearby. Late Monday morning, Oroville recorded 717.
At similar times, Beijing, well known for air quality issues, ranged in the 200's, along with Dehli, India. Beijing has had many days where they have maxed out the scale at 1,000, and many believe it would have gone higher.
But on a Northern California Monday morning in November, you can say some parts had among the worst air quality in the world.
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