Weather in columbus ohio sunday1/17/2024 Does Columbus have cleaner air than Cincinnati?ĭespite Columbus’s larger population and higher traffic burden, air pollution levels here tend to be similar to those of Cincinnati.įor ozone pollution, both Hamilton County (including Cincinnati) and Franklin County (including Columbus) were rated an “F” in 2019 for exceeding the federal allowance of unhealthy ozone days. Five months in 2019 exceeded the US AQI “good” rating, February, March, July, November, and December. While Columbus air quality meets annual PM2.5 targets, the city received a “B” rating for having one day in the “orange” US AQI category. These trends tend to correspond with maximum readings at monitors to the northeast of the city, such as the New Albany air quality monitoring site and London air quality monitoring site. Columbus’s worst unhealthy ozone days, where ozone exceeded AQI levels of 100, tend to correspond with wind blowing in from the southwest or west. Primary ozone sources include vehicle emissions from cars, trucks, and buses as well as power plants and other sources of combustion. Hot, sunny conditions are required for ozone formation, which is created when precursor pollutants, nitrogen oxides (NO 2) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), cook in sunlight. The ozone pollution season coincides with summer, running from March through October. Columbus ozone received an “F” rating from the 2019 “State of the Air” report. 11 percent of all days that exceeded this same standard, meanwhile, were the result of high levels for fine particle pollution, PM2.5.Ĭolumbus’s worst air pollution rating comes from ozone pollution. In the summer, where ozone levels tend to be most severe, 22 percent of days that exceed US “good” AQI standards were a result of high ozone. Why does Columbus have unhealthy air quality?Ĭolumbus unhealthy air quality is largely attributable to two pollutants: fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone.Īccording to the Central Ohio Air Report, a majority of days in Central Ohio from November 2018 to October 2019 experienced “good’ US Air Quality Index (AQI) levels. In order to meet these more stringent targets and better serve sensitive groups, Columbus will need to implement additional emission standards to drive down the presence of ozone precursor pollutants, nitrogen dioxide (NO 2) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), to combat the effects of a warming climate.įollow Columbus air quality data at the top of this page or on the IQAir AirVisual app for the most current health data and advisories. 3 The new standard better serves children, the elderly, and people with heart and lung conditions, who are all categorized as “sensitive” to air pollution. EPA lowered allowable levels from to 75 ppb to 70 ppb. National ozone standards became more stringent in 2015, when the U.S. Correlating to the increased temperatures, 4 of the 5 highest ozone days also occurred this month, with the fifth occurring on June 28. July was the hottest month of the year in 2019 (2.9☏ higher than the month average from 2007 to 2016), with below-average precipitation. From July to October, Columbus experienced hotter temperatures in 2019 than the average of temperatures in the last decade from 2007 to 2016. As climate change drives temperatures higher, ozone formation becomes accelerated. This recent gain in ozone concentrations may, however, be more indicative of weather than emissions. While the number of unhealthy ozone days have been on the decline in recent years, “moderate” ozone levels, which exceed federal “good” standards but are not classified as “unhealthy,” increased from 18 percent in 2018 to 21 percent in 2019. 1 Columbus air quality has in fact never met this ozone target. While such optimistic annual ratings show general success in keeping air pollution levels low, it only takes several hours of elevated air pollution levels to cause adverse health effects in the general public.įrom 2016 to 2018, Franklin County, of which Columbus is the county seat, experienced a weighted average of 4.3 unhealthy ozone days annually, exceeding the federal target allowing no more than 3.2 unhealthy days a year. Similar “good” ratings have been achieved each year in Columbus since 2012. In 2019, Columbus air quality index (AQI) averaged an annual score of 37 or “good.” The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) describes “good” air quality as air that generally poses little to no health risk. What is the air quality in Columbus Ohio?Ĭolumbus air quality is generally clean.
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