SoCal fireworks smoke caused worst air quality of the year

Smoke and haze filled the air Sunday night and Monday across Southern California. Experts said fireworks over the Fourth of July weekend cause the worst air quality of the year, every year.

"We consistently see the worst air quality of the year during the evening of July 4th and into July 5th due to smoke from fireworks," said Bradley Whitaker, senior public information officer with the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

Whitaker said the poor air quality was a result of metal air pollutants and high levels of particulate matter found in fireworks smoke.

A particulate advisory was issued through monday night with some areas reaching unhealthy or very unhealthy Air Quality Indexes (AQI).

Whitaker said it's not just vulnerable groups that should be concerned. This level of pollution can have health risks for everybody.

"Breathing a fine particulate matter, it can lead to a wide variety cardiovascular and respiratory health effects, such as heart attacks, asthma aggravation, decreased lung function, coughing or difficulty breathing," he said. "It's something that we all should be mindful of."

News Channel 3's First Alert Chief Meteorologist Haley Clawson said a temperature inversion exasperated smoky conditions overnight.

"There was warmer air above cooler air and it was really trapping everything closer to the surface," Clawson said. "There's less wind so there's no mixing, and that's when all of those particulates get trapped."

East of the valley near the Inland Empire, smog reduced visibility in some spots to under a mile.

National Weather Service Meteorologist Adam Roser said that's because of the marine layer Monday acting as a trapping mechanism.

"All that smoke didn't really have anywhere to go," Roser said. "The sea breeze isn't really mixing the atmosphere or anything so we're getting all this air trapped in one area."

The air quality advisory expires Monday night in our area. You should check your local air quality and if it's unhealthy or worse, limit outdoor activity.