San Francisco and Portland Ranked Most Polluted Major Cities in the World (Live) (opens in new tab)

(iqair.com)

14 points0x2a5y ago21 comments

21 comments

17 comments · 6 top-level

PieSquared5y ago· 6 in thread

Probably worth adjusting the title -- air quality is not just a measure of pollution. In this case, both SF and Portland are filled (unfortunately) with wildfire smoke, rather than a man-made pollutant...

bamboozled5y ago

Why do you want the title adjusted? It’s sadly just a fact that the air pollution is bad in SF today.

If bad air pollution is caused by factories do people in those towns come and make similar arguments?

happytoexplain5y ago

I assumed the title meant man-made pollutants. That's colloquially what pollution refers to. It's pretty clearly misleading.

30minAdayHN5y ago

because the title is no longer correct? it's no longer the worst. not denying that pollution is bad in SF.

1 more reply

0x2aOP5y ago

Is smoke not considered a pollutant? The list is just a ranking of current PM2.5 AQI levels.

pstrateman5y ago

Generally when people are talking about pollutants they're talking about man made pollutants.

3 more replies

dutch30005y ago

the fire was man-made

Urgo5y ago· 3 in thread

38 mins after this was posted it looks like Portland passed San Francisco by. Portland is at 220, SF is at 181.

0x2aOP5y ago

It's been fluctuating throughout the day. PurpleAir is showing even worse levels in SF currently (over 300 US PM2.5 AQI).

- https://www.purpleair.com/map?opt=1/mAQI/a10/cC0&select=5435...

- https://i.imgur.com/9N6ua2G.png (screenshot)

30minAdayHN5y ago

Yea - the title of the article is definitely a click bait. If the positions are going to switch so fast, there is no point in calling that out.

0x2aOP5y ago

Updated title to include Portland.

nine_zeros5y ago· 2 in thread

I would say a more interesting data point there is that Jakarta air pollution on a normal day is the same as San Francisco air pollution on a historic wildfire day.

SF air pollution levels on an average day is very low.

bozoUser5y ago

Came here to exactly say this, living your life in a non-emergency situation in some parts of the world like Delhi is close to current living conditions in the Bay Area (+surrounding states) under unprecedented wild fire in the modern history!

Now let that sink in :(

dutch30005y ago

emergency is becomingly unfortunately normalized with regards to wild fires in the western part of the country. also, “living your life” infers a generalized comparison and if that’s the case you must consider the destructive impact (homes/businesses) of the fire that lives on well beyond the actual event. - bad air quality from pollution isn’t destructive in that manner

wheelerwj5y ago

this isn't an accurate title at all. And at the time i clicked the link, SF isn't even #1 anymore... Portland is.

its just a list of cities sorted by their Air Quality Index and has very little to do with pollution.

netsharc5y ago

Well, since there's a major forest fire nearby...

It's like saying my fireplace is the scene of one of the hottest temperatures on the planet (updated live)...

Simulacra5y ago

The wildfires are wrecking havoc for the air across California.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

21 comments

17 comments · 6 top-level

PieSquared5y ago· 6 in thread

bamboozled5y ago

Why do you want the title adjusted? It’s sadly just a fact that the air pollution is bad in SF today.

If bad air pollution is caused by factories do people in those towns come and make similar arguments?

happytoexplain5y ago

I assumed the title meant man-made pollutants. That's colloquially what pollution refers to. It's pretty clearly misleading.

30minAdayHN5y ago

because the title is no longer correct? it's no longer the worst. not denying that pollution is bad in SF.

1 more reply

0x2aOP5y ago

Is smoke not considered a pollutant? The list is just a ranking of current PM2.5 AQI levels.

pstrateman5y ago

Generally when people are talking about pollutants they're talking about man made pollutants.

3 more replies

dutch30005y ago

the fire was man-made

Urgo5y ago· 3 in thread

38 mins after this was posted it looks like Portland passed San Francisco by. Portland is at 220, SF is at 181.

0x2aOP5y ago

It's been fluctuating throughout the day. PurpleAir is showing even worse levels in SF currently (over 300 US PM2.5 AQI).

- https://www.purpleair.com/map?opt=1/mAQI/a10/cC0&select=5435...

- https://i.imgur.com/9N6ua2G.png (screenshot)

30minAdayHN5y ago

Yea - the title of the article is definitely a click bait. If the positions are going to switch so fast, there is no point in calling that out.

0x2aOP5y ago

Updated title to include Portland.

nine_zeros5y ago· 2 in thread

I would say a more interesting data point there is that Jakarta air pollution on a normal day is the same as San Francisco air pollution on a historic wildfire day.

SF air pollution levels on an average day is very low.

bozoUser5y ago

Now let that sink in :(

dutch30005y ago

wheelerwj5y ago

this isn't an accurate title at all. And at the time i clicked the link, SF isn't even #1 anymore... Portland is.

its just a list of cities sorted by their Air Quality Index and has very little to do with pollution.

netsharc5y ago

Well, since there's a major forest fire nearby...

It's like saying my fireplace is the scene of one of the hottest temperatures on the planet (updated live)...

Simulacra5y ago

The wildfires are wrecking havoc for the air across California.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse