The Bay Area's hot start to December has given way to hazy skies.
All of the Bay Area experienced moderate air quality for most of Thursday, with levels ranging from 51-100 on the Air Quality Index, thanks to a temperature inversion trapping pollutants near the surface.
"We might be looking at these hazy skies for another few days," National Weather Service Meteorologist Drew Peterson told KCBS Radio's Jeff Bell and Patti Reising on Thursday afternoon.
Peterson explained that the Bay Area is "under a stagnant high-pressure system," and the particulate matter generated by cars, industry and fireplaces have been building up with "nowhere to go" thanks to a lack of wind. The surface air has cooled following record-setting temperatures on Wednesday, while warmer air sits above it.
Meteorologists with the agency don't expect more wind until Saturday afternoon or evening, which would help push particulates out of the area. Hazy skies will persist until then, and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District is forecasting moderate air quality across the region through next Monday.
"The longer it sits over us, the longer the stagnant air is in place, the more time it has to accumulate more of that particulate matter and it brings worsening air quality," Peterson said.
The Air District didn't issue a Spare the Air Alert because the fine particulate pollution, though visible, wasn’t projected to exceed the federal standard for unhealthy levels. Parts of Oakland, San Rafael and San Francisco briefly experienced air that was unhealthy for sensitive groups, but for no more than a couple of hours, according to the agency’s readings.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is investigating lowering the federal standard, which the Air District tweeted on Thursday it supports.
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