Adelaide's Air Quality

[UrbanSG]

Shocked to read this from adelaidenow.com.au. We Adelaidians pride ourselves on being cleaner than the other mainland cities. I have been noticing more smog and poorer visibility over the city recently and not just associated with the K.I. bushfires.

Adelaide's Air On The Nose
CARA JENKIN, ENVIRONMENT REPORTER
December 18, 2007 08:30pm

ADELAIDE'S air quality is worse than Sydney's, Melbourne's, Brisbane's and Perth's, figures show.

High levels of carbon monoxide, ozone and small particles have been found in Adelaide's air in concentrations above those detected in the larger cities.
But it is weather conditions rather than pollutant amounts that are believed to be the major cause of the increased pollution levels.

The Environment Protection Authority also cites bushfire smoke and the mainland's oldest car fleet as contributing factors.

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show Adelaide's air has higher carbon monoxide concentrations than the air in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne and is second to Sydney in the highest daily concentration of ozone. Adelaide air-monitoring sites recorded six days of excessive particles, three times as many days of excessive particles than recorded in Sydney and Brisbane, and the third-highest concentration of air particles.

Flinders University honorary research fellow, Associate Professor Jorg Hacker, said large amounts of ozone, a poisonous substance, often formed from bushfire smoke after a chemical reaction between air particles and the smoke. He said ozone and other pollution was often trapped over the city by Adelaide's wind patterns and location between the Hills and coast.

"If you have a bushfire situation, either in the Hills or on Kangaroo Island, the gully winds or easterly winds will transport that right over Adelaide.

"The morning peak-hour traffic generates part of the pollution and that gets blown out to sea by gully winds and blue skies, high temperatures and sunshine help generate smog.

"Then the sea breeze brings it all inland to the Hills in the afternoon."

People's EPA chair Gary Goland said the results could be the tip of the iceberg and more monitoring was needed to determine peak levels of air pollution.

"The EPA is only looking at average levels for the day, but it is actually peak levels that initiate a chemical response," he said. "We need to be looking more closely at the environment and what the measures are".

[Mants]

found this pic on flickr.

adelaide's smog is really quite bad!

[crawf]

That picture has got to be edited by photoshop, if not that is shocking

[ozisnowman]

That picture has got to be edited by photoshop, if not that is shocking

Definitely not photoshoped. I live in the southern adelaide foothills and although its looking
at it from a different angle you really notice the difference between the hills and the city
which has a layer of smog over it. The problem is made worse when like the article says
wind conditions arent favourable or when their is no wind at all.

Problems with Air Quality and the problems with rising Temperatures, lack of Water etc
should be warning bells to this State Government that a major overhaul of public transport
is needed... along with increased frequency and not allowing city carparking to be salary sacrificed etc.

They all complain about not having the money, well guess what if they dont do anything
they will end up paying between 10X-1000X more later to fix the associated problems.

IE Person too lazy to walk from home to bus stop or train station and from bus stop or train station to work, has
no time or energy for excercise, also too lazy to walk to local shops but rides own car as usual adds to
Adelaides already bad air quality and greenhouse gases not to mention getting fat and unhealthy and
later on becoming a burden of the public health system.... But dont worry they will be able to get
treated at the new and improved Royal Adelaide Hospital otherwise refered to as the MARJ.

[Edgar]

That picture has got to be edited by photoshop, if not that is shocking

It's definitely not photoshoped, at if I am correct, the picture is taken from North Adelaide (adjacent to aquatic centre) facing Torrens Rd, and that 2 pipes is coming from the port

[AG]

That image is not of smog. Smog is browner in appearance than what is in the image. Also, smog only occurs on days when the sun is shining bright because it provides a neccesary condition for the photochemical reaction to allow smog to form.

[ozisnowman]

probably the KI fire smoke, but the wind conditions which caused that often cause
the city to blanketed with smog in summer etc.

anyway it is ample evidence that we are too car dependant as was the case with
the article last week in saying we are Australia's most car dependant capital city.

[duke]

Anyone go to Flinders Uni. I was up their one day and saw there was a nice view of the city. Then I realized I was looking through a brown haze. It wasn't a windy day so I doubt that it was dust.
I think we need more photos.

[jk1237]

Ive never ever noticed that much smoke ever coming out of the Torrens Island p-station. And im also intrigued by that article the other day that Adelaide was Aust's most car dependant city, caus the exact same article appeared in Victoria saying Melbourne was Aust's most car dependant city. News Ltd wouldnt stretch the truth would they?

[Xaragmata]

Ive never ever noticed that much smoke ever coming out of the Torrens Island p-station.

Even in the 1960s when it was oil fired A station only, I never saw that much smoke (or vapour), & what did
come out was usually caught by the prevailing wind & swept horizontally towards the north - east ... not
hundreds of metres straight up. My pic from January is more typical of the "smoke" from Torrens Island these
days... http://xaragmata.mooo.com/album/stobie/ ... rens3.html

[The_Q915]

Public Transport will not make and tangable difference to air quality, and is not the cause higher air pollution. From memory we are on 2% more car dependent the Perth and 7% from Victoria.

[duke]

My pic from January is more typical of the "smoke" from Torrens Island these
days... http://www.xaragmata.thebbs.org/album/s ... rens3.html

Cool pics. How did you manage to take those without having security jumping on you?

[Xaragmata]

Cool pics. How did you manage to take those without having security jumping on you?

Never thought about it. I try to take a river cruise every few months to get some more shots of PRExy bridges.
I've seen much better views of A & B, plus the peak generators, on the evening news. There were some good shots a few days back when they were talking about the hot rock generators on the Peninsula. If you get the chance, take the dolphin cruise ... shows Adelaide in another light completely.

[.::G!oRgOs::.]

Id have though the geography of Adelaide played a part seeing as the city is surrounded by hills which can lock in the pollutants (happens in Athens and LA this way).

[duke]

Did anyone notice the brown haze over the city today?
Anyone know if it was Smog or Dust. It was a rather calm day so I assume it was smog.