New year, new smog? Health expert explains why Phoenix suffers from bad air quality on the 1st day of 2025
PHOENIX - A constant barrage of fireworks in the sky on New Year's Eve, along with the smoky remnants that lingered throughout the day on Jan. 1, are definitely noticed by people in the Phoenix area.
"Everywhere all around, there were fireworks going off," said one person.
For those with a New Year's Resolution to get out and do more jogging, Wednesday might not be the day to do it, as air quality in the Valley sat at the unhealthy range. Conditions were even worse during the morning hours: at 7:00 a.m., the Federal website AirNow, which collects data from departments like the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ), showed a hazardous air quality reading.
"The levels for both PM10 and PM2.5 – those are the particle sizes – were pegged, so they passed where the meter goes in the extremely hazardous range," said Arizona Public Health Association Executive Director Will Humble.
Humble said the air can be dangerous for people with respiratory or cardiac problems. He also said this isn’t the first time such an air quality degradation has happened.
"For the last few years, there’s one day of the year that stands out as being the absolute worst in terms of air quality, and that’s January 1, especially in the morning," said Humble. "It’s fireworks. Period. It wasn’t fireplaces. This was flat out fireworks."
Humble said the proof is in the air pollution particles.
"The other way you can tell is the particle sizes today are very, very small. It’s a component called PM2.5, and what that means is less than two microns in size, meaning you can inhale it into your lungs, where it can do the most damage," said Humble. "Fireworks let off that exact type of particulates, the small type of particulates that can go deep into your lungs."
Humble points to an Arizona state law that prohibits large cities and counties in the state from regulating the sale and use of consumer fireworks during holidays as a major problem. We reached out to the Arizona State Senator who pushed for that legislation for comment, but did not hear back from a spokesperson, likely due to the holiday.