Chapter Three: Air

Summary

Brian Steed

Air quality remains top of mind for Utahns living along the Wasatch front and in the Uinta Basin. Although Utah has made some serious gains in air quality over the past decades, there is also cause for concern. In looking at the numbers for this year, we have seen fewer days of inversion and have seen lower levels
of smoke pollution this summer from regional forest fires than we have seen in recent years. That has meant lower numbers of red or “unhealthy” air days than any year since 2019. 

On the downside, Utah has seen an uptick in concern over summer ozone along the Wasatch Front and winter ozone in the Uinta Basin. Adding to the list of concerns is the emerging issue of dust blowing off the dry lakebed of the Great Salt Lake. Failure to address these new concerns will almost certainly draw regulatory action from air quality regulators from state and federal agencies.

Addressing these concerns will require better understanding and monitoring of contributing factors. In the remaining sections of this chapter, we examine some of the trends and analysis of our air quality and the human behaviors that affect it. 

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