By Lauren Waddell
They come every winter without fail, waves of haze and fog that settle perfectly between the mountains of Utah Valley.
The series of winter inversions has begun once again, with air quality levels down to moderate and cooler temperatures in the last few days. Inversions are the opposite of normal air patterns, which have cooler air on top and warmer air underneath. Conversely, inversions have cold air trapped beneath a layer of warmer air above.
The geography of Utah, particularly in the valleys, lends itself to the formation of inversions. The surrounding mountains and lack of strong winds provide an ideal situation for inversions to develop.
Inversions, however, are not just an inconvenient period of gloomy weather. They also pose significant health consequences.
In addition to trapping cold air beneath a warm-air lid, warm air also traps pollutants, which creates increasingly dangerous air quality as the inversion escalates each day.
'Every day the inversion stays, the pollution content in the air increases and gets more concentrated,' said Rick Sprott, director for the Division of Air Quality of the Department of Environmental Quality.
The primary pollutants during winter are particulate matter (PM). Particulate matter comes mostly from soot, dust and vehicle emissions. According to a fact sheet put out by the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, 60 percent of particulate matter and 70 percent of carbon monoxide emissions come from vehicles.
The more concentrated the pollutants in the air, the worse the air quality becomes.
The Division of Air Quality issues health advisories based on the amount of pollutants in the air. These advisories address major health concerns that can result from pollution, such as problems with respiratory and cardiovascular functions. Historically, the most significant health effects are respiratory health issues such as asthma and emphysema, Sprott said. Now, however, there are possibilities of other health effects such as increases in heart attacks. Though these health problems can occur for anyone, 'almost all the effects seem to be worse for the very young and the elderly,' Sprott said.
One of the most common problems is increased irritability for those with asthma.
'Clearly when the inversions are bad, the asthma worsens,' said Dr. Evan Matheson, asthma specialist for Provo Allergy and Asthma Clinic.
Matheson suggests that those affected by asthma stay inside as much as possible, keep windows closed and avoid other indoor pollutants such as smoking.
Though the inversion itself cannot be controlled, there are many ways to help. Sprott recommends starting to act as soon as the inversion starts rolling in.
'Don''t use wood burning stoves, reduce driving and minimize the amount of pollution your care puts out,' Sprott said.