Air Quality

Poor air quality affects your health.

When pollution is bad, it can irritate your eyes, nose, and throat, cause shortness of breath, aggravate asthma and other respiratory conditions, and even affect your heart and cardiovascular system.  Breathing polluted air for long periods of time can cause more serious health problems.

Two primary causes of poor air quality in the Bay Area are ozone and particulate matter, also called PM or soot. Cars and trucks and other mobile sources are the major sources of ozone in the summertime. In the winter, wood smoke from woodstoves and fireplaces is the major source of PM pollution.