Dear Tom,
How does Chicago’s air quality compare with other U.S. cities?
Max Schoenfeld, Evanston
Dear Max,
Quite well; perhaps even surprisingly well.
The Surface Transportation Policy Project (STPP) ranked air quality for hundreds of U.S. cities. For each location, the STPP tabulated the total number of days during a three-year period (2000-2002) in which the Air Quality Index for five major air pollutants exceeded 100 (unhealthy), based on data from the Environmental Protection Agency.
In a ranking from worst to best air quality based on the total number of “polluted days” using those criteria, Chicago stands at #40, meaning 39 cities logged a greater number of pollution days. A few results: #1 (worst air) Riverside, Calif.; #4 Los Angeles; #6 Pittsburgh; #9 Houston; #12 Cleveland; #16 Atlanta; #17 New York; #20 Washington, D.C.; #30 Dallas; #35 Gary.
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Tom Skilling is chief meteorologist at WGN-TV. His forecasts can be seen Monday through Friday on WGN-TV News at noon and 9 p.m.
Write to: ASK TOM WHY, 2501 Bradley Pl., Chicago, IL 60618 or asktomwhy@wgntv.com (Mail volume precludes personal response.)
WGN-TV meteorologists Steve Kahn, Richard Koeneman and Paul Dailey plus weather producer Bill Snyder contribute to this page.
