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Have you seen our Economy indicators on Hotel Occupancy? Read about it.

Check out real-time water quality readings thanks to our friends at 3Rain.org. Read about it.

For the first time in decades, domestic in-migration in the region exceeded out-migration! Read about it.

Want to become involved with PittsburghTODAY?? Read about it.

Pittsburgh ranks third in the number of LEED-certified buildings. Read about it.

A reasonably effective way to evaluate overall health status is to simply ask. Read about it.

Did you know that 45,000 jobs in SW PA are dependent upon the waterway transportation system? Read about it.

Our neighbors in Ohio and West Virginia lead the region in classical music attendance. Read about it.

Pittsburgh trails Baltimore, St. Louis and Denver in number of cultural institutions. Read about it.

Educational and Health Services is Pittsburgh’s largest job sector. Read about it.

Registered nurses pay is low in Pittsburgh by national standards. Read about it.

Pittsburgh last among benchmark regions in startup firms. Read about it.

No benchmark region has as high a high school graduation rate as Pittsburgh. Read about it.

A bad air day in Pittsburgh is still bad. Read about it.

Local spending on schools is low by benchmark standards. Read about it.

Rush hour traffic in Pittsburgh is less congested than in most cities? Read about it.

Use our sitemap to quickly find content. Read about it.

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page html_indicator.xsl Current_Ozone_Levels_USA

environment
Environment / Ozone

Ground-level ozone or smog irritates the lungs and can make it difficult for people to breathe. Ozone is formed when chemicals emitted by motor vehicles, power plants, certain industries and processes, and even vegetation react chemically in the presence of sunlight. Both ozone and some of the pollutants which cause it are carried by the wind, so pollution generated in one state can affect ozone levels in downwind areas.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has established standards requiring that the maximum daily 8-hour average ozone level at any location be no greater than 80 parts per billion. The EPA is considering lowering the standard to 70 or 75 parts per billion.

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Current Ozone Levels - U.S.A. including all Benchmark Regions

The Ozone reporting season lasts from April to October.

This map from the EPA AirNow website shows the hourly ozone levels at the subset of monitoring locations that report continously on a daily basis. The colors show ozone levels based on the EPA's Air Quality Index. Green means ‘Good’, Yellow means ‘Moderate’, Orange means ‘Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups’ and Red means ‘Unhealthy’. For more information, visit the EPA's AIRNow website.