#cool as in interesting

[thefirsthogokage]

@adamsmasher: This put me in research mode.

So the AQI in Portland was indeed clocked at 516. Or, rather, I think an area around Portland that they called Portland clocked that high. Bend, Oregon, it would seem, while Portland top clocked in at 477 (that source is opb.org, Article: Oregon’s air is so hazardous it’s breaking records; By Monica Samayoa (OPB); Sept. 15, 2020 4:36 p.m.). I was curious how far Bend and Portland were from each other, so I mapped it:

Anywho, I remembered the scale only going up to 500 in the charts I'd seen, so I looked a little more.

Looks like the scale in the United States only goes up to 500 because it rarely gets above that here, but the scale goes higher in other countries, such as India.

In case the NY Times gets gate-keepy with the article, here it is in full:

Title: What Happens When the Air Quality Index Surpasses 500?

Tagline: The toxic air in the United States this week has flirted with the upper range of the 500-point scale. In the past decade, there have been times when the air quality was even worse.

Author: Jenny Gross

Date: June 9, 2023

Body:

New York City’s smoke-clogged air reached 407 on the Environmental Protection Agency’s 500-point Air Quality Index at one point this week, signifying that pollution levels were “hazardous” and at historically dangerous levels.

But it’s not the worst air quality that the United States has seen. There have been about 40 times over the past decade when the index has risen above 500, into what the E.P.A. calls “Beyond the A.Q.I.” Most of those instances have occurred in Western states, including California, Oregon and Washington, the E.P.A. said in an email, as wildfires spread a blanket of smoke over parts of the region.

The E.P.A. in 1999 released the current version of the six-tier index as a way to communicate to the public the density of five pollutants. A rating anywhere between 301 and 500 is considered “hazardous,” and air quality at that level will trigger health warnings. At that level and beyond, everyone should stay indoors and reduce activity levels. “Use the same information that is for the ‘hazardous’ category,” the E.P.A. advises.

While the A.Q.I. measurement used in the United States does not support values above 500, such values occur so infrequently that the issue rarely comes up, said Robert Rohde, the lead scientist at Berkeley Earth, an organization focused on environmental data science.

“Such levels do occur more often in some foreign countries, such as India,” Dr. Rohde said. Some third-party air quality tracking platforms extend the U.S. A.Q.I. scale and track figures over 500, he added.

Harshal Salve, a professor at the All India Institute Of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, said that as air quality reaches hazardous levels close to or above 500 on the U.S. A.Q.I. scale, people will experience symptoms of respiratory illnesses, such as coughing and a burning sensation in their eyes, with people over 65 years and under five years at the highest risk.

The negative effects can continue even after air quality levels have improved, since pollution particles can cause inflammation of the lung tissue and increase the vulnerability to infections.

By Friday, the cities with the highest A.Q.I.s were seeing improved air quality, with Susquehanna Valley, Pa., at 150, down from 448 on Thursday morning, the highest of anywhere in the United States, according to AirNow, a source for air quality data. Levels below 100 are considered to be below the level known to cause adverse health effects.

The E.P.A. said it has proposed changes to the A.Q.I. to make it more accurately reflect recent scientific studies about particle pollution and health, and to improve the quality of monitoring data. The agency said air quality in the United States is generally improving, even if climate change is contributing to more frequent and severe wildfires.

Olivia Clifton, an atmospheric scientist at NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, said that if air quality levels like the ones this week become more frequent, the E.P.A. should consider defining what A.Q.I. levels above 500 say about air quality for the public.

“Is this still hazardous or beyond hazardous?” Dr. Clifton said. “What is the qualitative description of the air quality that would need to be described for a higher A.Q.I.?”

Jenny Gross is a general assignment reporter. Before joining The Times, she covered British politics for The Wall Street Journal. @/jggross

This was an interesting read! Thanks for triggering my need to do a deep dive!

Anywho, since I included things in the OG version way too late: Cloth masks are NOT sufficient. Please used KN95s or N95s!

Stay safe out there, folks!

If you're in an area that is suffering from wildfire polluted air, I just saw this on Twitter:

Bonus:

Here's a site I found that can tell you how to make these:

Edit: There have been some extra pointers (about open sources of water in the home, and I believe some other things) in the reblogs, so I highly recommend taking a look at the notes of this post!

[epoxyconfetti]

[inkskinned]

please i love you i'm begging you bring back suspension of disbelief bring back trusting the audience like. i cannot handle any more dialogue that sounds like a legal document. "hello, i am here to talk to you about the incident from a few minutes ago, because i feel you might be unwell, and i am invested in your personal wellbeing." "thank you, i am unwell because the incident was hurtful to me due to my childhood, which was bad." I CANT!!!!

do you know how many people are mad that authors use "growled" as a word for "said"? it's just poetics! they do not literally mean "growled," it's just a common replacement for "said with force but in a low tone." it's normal! do you hear me!! help me i love you please let me out of here!!!

[noodles-and-tea]

Continuation of this

[rdps01]

on that ford grindset lately

[tizzymcwizzy]

this is a poster i made for my call to action assignment in humanities! it's a bunch of basic and easy stretches for people who sit and work at a desk all day (me)

the idea is that you'd put the poster up above ur desk and do the stretches every 30 minutes or so,, the whole routine won't take more than about 6 minutes to complete and when done regularly it can prevent wrist, shoulder, neck and back pain! :)

all these stretches can be done while sitting (although i HIGHLY recommend you stand up and move around while taking a break from working)

you can get a free digital copy of this poster here on my gumroad!

and you can order a print/poster here from my inprnt!

[cozylittleartblog]

"content creator" is a corporate word.

we are artists.

[chloesimaginationthings]

Michael Afton wishes he had FNAF Movie Mike's life,,

[pickled-flowers]

Sex positivity is also about not calling Ace people prude and using virgin as an insult 👍 hope that helps

[evercelle]

orv bookmark draws, pt. 3! chps 226, 254, 310 - [ part 1, part 2]

[swampybogg]

[purr-facts]

The ancestor of all domestic cats is the African Wild Cat which still exists today.

[noodles-and-tea]

MY BBG POOKIE PIE!!!

[twinkubus]

Bound Man by John Singer Sargent, c. 1917-21

[cheeseandcake-from-ao3]

[chloesimaginationthings]

Vanessa's first impression on Mike in the FNAF movie