Category Archives: Air Quality

Indoor Air Quality: It’s Inversion Season: What You Need to Know

🌫️ It’s Inversion Season: What You Need to Know

Each winter, the Wasatch Front experiences a natural weather pattern called an inversion — when a layer of warm air traps colder air (and pollution) near the ground. With nowhere for pollutants to go, our valley becomes a smog-filled bowl.

This impacts outdoor air and can affect indoor air quality, especially during long-lasting inversion events. As we enter peak inversion season, here’s what you need to know to keep your home healthy, safe, and breathable.

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Indoor Air Quality: No Burn Days – Small Choices, Big Impact on Our Winter Air

🔥 Winter Air Quality Alert: Know the Rules, Protect the Air

Winter brings one of Utah’s biggest air quality challenges — inversions. But what exactly is an inversion? This natural phenomenon occurs when a high-pressure system is setting up, trapping cold air on the valley floors with warmer air above it. This warm air also traps all our pollution with the cold air, keeping it contained in the valley until the inversion breaks. 

To help keep our air healthy when it matters most, the Utah Division of Air Quality (UDAQ) created the Mandatory No Burn Program.

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Indoor Air Quality: Fall Cleaning & Healthy Lungs: Your Indoor Air Reset

🍂 Back Indoors: Fall Cleaning & Air Quality Reset

It’s hard to believe we’re already six months into the Indoor Air Quality program!

October is Healthy Lung Month — the perfect time to give your lungs and your home a fresh start. As cooler weather moves in and we spend more time indoors, a quick “Air Quality Reset” now can help you breathe easier all season long.

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Idle Free Awareness in SLC

by SLCgreen Intern Talea Steele

Photo Credit: SLCgreen. Poster titled ‘Be Part of the Solution – Not Part of the Pollution’.

We all know air quality is a problem for Salt Lake City. We can see our poor air quality in the winter with smoggy inversions, but you may not realize that air quality is just as big of an issue during the warmer months! 

Let me introduce you to… OZONE! Ozone is formed by pollutants such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and volatile organic compounds that interact with sunlight and heat. As temperatures rise across the valley, the formation of ground ozone rises as well, making us much more likely to breathe it in. Since ozone is odorless and invisible, we may not realize that breathing it in is damaging our cardiovascular systems and is like getting a sunburn to our lungs… ouch!   

So, what can we do about ozone to help keep our air and communities clean? One important and easy thing we can all do is to be idle free! 

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Press Release: Local government steps up: Salt Lake City is responding to changing climate with forward-thinking strategy

Salt Lake City invites residents to help shape its climate action plan, “Climate Forward SLC” 

Sept. 15, 2025

While climate change is a global crisis, many impacts are being tackled on local, community levels. Salt Lake City has been a leader in Utah, first committing to climate action in 2002 with the Kyoto Protocol. Since then, the City has achieved a lot, but much has also changed and evolved.

To refresh critical future steps, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and the City’s Sustainability Department recently launched Climate Forward SLC, a process to update the City’s climate strategy.

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Indoor Air Quality: 🚌 Back-to-School Edition: Go Idle-Free to Breathe Cleaner Air 🚗


September is Idle Free Awareness Month! As the temperatures start to cool, and inversion season approaches, we wanted to share some information about vehicle emissions from idling and its impacts on indoor air quality.

Every morning, cars idle in driveways, streets, and school zones. Exhaust drifts indoors—triggering asthma, worsening allergies, and affecting everyone in your home and community.

Vehicle exhaust makes up about 50% of the air pollution in Utah during a typical winter day, and unnecessary idling of cars and buses contribute a significant amount of emissions released into the air each day. That’s why we encourage drivers to “Turn Your Key, Be Idle Free”! 

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Turning Up the Heat – Adapting to Hotter Temps Across SLC

As the summer heat continues, it’s important to understand how to deal with extreme temperatures and why they are becoming more frequent every year. We have seen Salt Lake County’s average summer temperature increase by 3.9° F since 1985, while the U.S. average has increased by 1.5°F. 

What is the Urban Heat Island Effect? 

Have you ever noticed how the city feels much hotter than surrounding areas? That feeling is thanks to the urban heat island effect. The heat island effect is a phenomenon that leads to higher temperatures in urban areas compared to rural areas. This temperature difference is due to the greater presence of heat-absorbing surfaces, like large buildings and pavement, and not as much vegetation and green space in a city. The high density of buildings within cities also makes it harder for temperatures to decrease at nighttime. 

How is Heat Distributed in SLC?

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Indoor Air Quality: Protecting Your Indoor Air During Wildfire Season

Wildfire season is here — and even if the flames are far away, the smoke can travel hundreds of miles and leak indoors. Smoke contains fine particles that can harm your lungs, worsen asthma, and make the air inside unhealthy to breathe — even when you can’t see it.

With your portable air purifier and a few simple steps, you can keep your home’s air cleaner and safer all season long.

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Indoor Air Quality: Cooking and Indoor Air Quality

Cooking brings flavor—but also hidden air pollution. Whether you use gas or electric, how you cook impacts the air your family breathes. Even brief cooking sessions can spread pollutants throughout your home (not just the kitchen). But simple changes can greatly enhance your indoor air quality!

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