Why is there so much smog and air pollution in L.A.?

you see that the Los Angeles Basin is bordered on the west and southwest by the ocean that provides an on-shore flow and the mountains on the east and north. Add in a few million gas powered vehicles, the smog is heavier than air so it does not rise out, and there you have it, L.A. air. read more

Add in a few million gas powered vehicles, the smog is heavier than air so it does not rise out, and there you have it, L.A. air. "I don't trust air that I can't see" we used to say. I once heard that when the Spanish explorers first arrived in L.A. they saw a cloud of smoke hovering over the basin from the campfires of the indigenous people. read more

But the region can control the pollutants it pours into the atmosphere. In recent decades, Southern California has made huge strides toward keeping its air clean. Between 1976 and 1980, for example, the South Coast Air Basin recorded an average of 112 stage 1 ozone alerts per year. It hasn't experienced one since 2003. read more