Measures to avoid locations with bad air quality and inversion for asthmatics?
Bergen, Norway, is an example of a city surrounded by mountains where the air quality can get very bad, terrible for asthmatics. This phenomenon is called inversion. Before the symptoms begin, the asthmatic person may alleviate the symptoms by measures such as traveling to locations with inversion during summer and observing bad geographic landscapes so avoiding them altogether such as strong winds blowing directly to valleys with clouds very low, hardly seeing sun. Instead of asking directly list-style question "What are cities in the world that asthmatics should avoid due to poor air quality?":
What are the measures an asthmatic traveller can make to choose new travelling locations not affected by inversion?
Best Answer
I would recommend looking at this live and historical dataset of air quality, mapped out globally. Values over 100 indicate the air quality could be problematic for sensitive groups, such as asthmatics. . It's important to note that air quality varies a lot based on time of year, weather, etc. so look at the values for the same dates as you plan to travel will give you a good idea of what cities to avoid.
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How can air quality be improved for asthma?
These forecast high air pollution days with unhealthy air. During Action Days, people with asthma should limit their time outdoors, especially from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Stay in a well-ventilated, preferably air-conditioned, building. Most of all, do not exercise outdoors on Action Days.How can you protect yourself from bad air quality?
8 tips to protect yourself from unhealthy air qualityWhat are 2 ways Poor air quality affects people with asthma?
Both short-term and long-term exposure to air pollutants can cause a variety of health problems. For people with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD - also known as emphysema or chronic bronchitis), air pollution can make it harder to breathe, trigger asthma attacks, or cause wheezing and coughing.How does air quality affect people with asthma?
Pollutants in the air have the same effect on kids with asthma as other triggers. They irritate the airways, making them swell and tighten up, and cause breathing problems. Pollutants can also make kids more likely to catch upper respiratory infections (like colds), which can bring on asthma symptoms.New Delhi has world's most toxic air
More answers regarding measures to avoid locations with bad air quality and inversion for asthmatics?
Answer 2
The Air Quality Index
There are several air quality monitoring websites out there. These use an Air Quality Index (AQI) ranging from 0 to 500, where a 0 indicates good air quality, and 500 indicates hazardously unhealthy air, as detailed in the table below:
Worldwide Air Quality Monitors
The World Air Quality Index Team runs an online real-time world map of air quality. They are a China-based organisation which collaborates with Chinese, American, and worldwide Environment Protection Agencies to gather and publish air quality data.
Another tool is provided by CITEAIR who runs a website showing a comparison on air quality in European cities.
The World Health Organisation maintains an Global Urban Ambient Air Pollution Database whose summary data can be downloaded and analysed.
You could also look at the data collected and published by the US Environment Protection Agency, which provides both raw and summary data. The EPA website also allows you to generate data plots for easier visualisation.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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