Why is bakersfield so polluted

Neighboring cities, meanwhile, averaged:. Moreover, November and December were the most polluted months for each. Use the Bakersfield air quality map to understand variations in air quality across locations. See how weather patterns, such as wind direction and speed, can affect pollution levels across the city, lowering air quality in some locations and exacerbating it in others.

State of the air — Breathless in Bakersfield: Is the worst air pollution in the US about to get worse? The Guardian. California tops Climate station precipitation summary. National Weather Service. Contributors 2. Data sources 3. IQAir sites use cookies to improve your online experience and deliver advertisements tailored to your interests. For more information about our how we use cookies, including how to manage your cookie settings, please review our Privacy Policy.

Join the movement! Become a contributor. Weather What is the current weather in Bakersfield? US AQI Overview What is the current air quality in Bakersfield? Health Recommendations How to protect from air pollution in Bakersfield? Sensitive groups should wear a mask outdoors Get a Mask Run an air purifier Get an air purifier Close your windows to avoid dirty outdoor air Everyone should reduce outdoor exercise. How to best protect from air pollution? Reduce your air pollution exposure in Bakersfield Car air purifier Air purifier Air quality monitor.

Where does Bakersfield Kern County rank in the world for air pollution? In its air quality report, Bakersfield ranked: 1 for annual particle pollution out of metropolitan areas 2 for hour particle pollution out of metropolitan areas 3 for high ozone days out of metropolitan areas In the World Air Quality Report , which compares annual PM2.

Why is Bakersfield, CA so polluted? High-polluting industries Bakersfield is a hub for energy production, agriculture, and distribution in California. Climate and meteorology Bakersfield has a hot, desert-like climate that promotes the prevalence of both ozone and particle pollution.

Is air quality in Bakersfield improving? Are all areas of Bakersfield polluted? Neighboring cities, meanwhile, averaged: Visalia air quality 68 miles away : Los Angeles air quality miles away : Bakersfield air quality data attribution Contributors 2 Government AirNow 2 stations. Where is the cleanest air quality in Bakersfield? Media Newsroom Press releases Media contact. A November air district white paper directed to the presidential transition team makes the argument that the valley is unfairly punished by the existing provisions of the Clean Air Act, and calls for changes.

You have this huge loophole. For the first time in nearly 20 years, the valley avoided violation of state and federal regulations for the concentration of PM2. If that would happen once a week, we would not have much of an air quality problem. But, he notes, those dairies and refineries could soon be operating at greater capacity again — and while the region got lucky with rain last year, normal annual rainfall in Bakersfield is just 6.

Without stronger environmental regulations, he warns, Bakersfield could be stuck with its worst-ranked air quality for a long time to come. In the front room of a Boys and Girls Club in the tiny farmworker community of Lamont, just south of Bakersfield, around 25 community activists from a handful of local organisations have gathered to coordinate their efforts around environmental justice issues in Kern County.

Planners at the county are currently working on a new countywide general plan, and recent legislation requires them to take into consideration environmental justice issues. Aguirre says the groups have to be strategic about how and where they advance their agenda. Aguirre is hoping to collect data to show local officials that air pollution issues here are much worse than the state and air district monitors report. Smith argues that state and local regulations have played a large role in reducing air pollution in the city and the valley, as have industrial investments in cleaner technologies.

Various state grants and incentive programmes have also helped reduce pollution, offering trade-ins or tune-ups for older vehicles and incentivising the adoption of cleaner burning farm equipment.

The State of the Air report , published on April 24, analyzed the period, which is the most recent block of time for which nationwide air pollution data has been verified. Those three years were also notably the hottest years on Earth ever recorded. An additional 7.

Eight cities on its list of most-polluted cities broke their own records for dangerous spikes in PM2. Bakersfield, California remains the most polluted city in America in terms of spikes in particulate matter, with Fresno coming in second. Los Angeles, similarly, is stuck in a topographic bowl, which helped to land it at number one on the list of the most ozone-polluted cities in America for the 19th time in 20 years on that list, Visalia, a Central Valley city, came in second, and Bakersfield came in third.

Both PM2. Exposure to PM2.