Northern California has just seen some of the best air quality for March in a long time.
With millions of cars off the road due to stay-at-home orders, and favorable weather for most of the month, Northern California took part in an unplanned experiment that impacted air quality for the region.
"Significantly fewer vehicles on our roads reduces the #1 source of pollution in the Bay Area. Weather is also a factor, as rain and windy weather can significantly reduce both PM and ozone pollution levels," according to Spare the Air Bay Area.
PM stands for Particulate Matter and is a metric in air pollution.Ozone is the main component in smog.
According to the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District data, this last March we only saw one day with moderate air quality. Every other day in March saw good air quality.
Compared to years past, this last March stands alone. Every year there are different variables that go into air quality like weather events and fires, but this was the first March partially covered by stay-at-home orders.
Around the world, many locations like China, India, and Southern California have recently seen high-quality air quality not seen in decades. They also had some form of stay-at-home orders and reduced industrial activity.
Recently, Los Angeles had some of the best air quality in the world, and San Francisco was in the top 10 as well.
Using data from Spare the Air for the Sacramento region last year (2019) recorded four days with Moderate air quality.
- 2018: 8 days with Moderate air quality, the rest were Good.
- 2017: 14 days with Moderate air quality
- 2016: 6 days with Moderate air quality
- 2015: 16 days with Moderate air quality
- 2014: 10 days with Moderate air quality
So far this April, the air has also been exceptionally good as the stay-at-home orders remain, along with favorable weather.
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