Weather and climate
Jul. 20th, 2021 10:56 pmA few nights ago we walked the dogs before bed, and noticed the crescent moon, a bit above the horizon, with a distinct pinkish cast. I pointed it out to ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
shalmestere, naturally assuming it was pink for the same reason the setting sun is red: it's just above the horizon, and therefore filtered through a lot of atmosphere, dust, and haze.
Last night we walked the dogs before bed, and the moon was now slightly gibbous, farther above the horizon, and still pink. I went "Huh."
Tonight the moon is about 3/4 full, even farther above the horizon, and still distinctly pink. And the only explanation I can think of is smoke from the fires in California and Oregon. The air here in NYC doesn't smell noticeably of smoke, but it has a certain opacity; everything is just a little fuzzy around the edges, as it hasn't been for the past fifteen months. I knew intellectually that this was a really bad fire year on the west coast, but this kind of effect 3000 miles downwind makes it much more real and visceral.
Edit: See this site for real-time Air Quality Index measurements and forecasts. The forecast for yesterday was red, today and tomorrow green, but the actual real-time measurements in most of the NYC area this morning are orange. Perhaps the forecast for today is lower because of the forecast thunderstorms this afternoon. One can also easily compare different kinds of pollution -- overall AQI, particulates under 2.5µm, ozone, sulfur dioxide, and carbon monoxide. For example, AQI, PM2.5, and CO were all in the red yesterday, as one would expect from wildfire smoke, while ozone and SO2 were both in the green.
shalmestere, naturally assuming it was pink for the same reason the setting sun is red: it's just above the horizon, and therefore filtered through a lot of atmosphere, dust, and haze.Last night we walked the dogs before bed, and the moon was now slightly gibbous, farther above the horizon, and still pink. I went "Huh."
Tonight the moon is about 3/4 full, even farther above the horizon, and still distinctly pink. And the only explanation I can think of is smoke from the fires in California and Oregon. The air here in NYC doesn't smell noticeably of smoke, but it has a certain opacity; everything is just a little fuzzy around the edges, as it hasn't been for the past fifteen months. I knew intellectually that this was a really bad fire year on the west coast, but this kind of effect 3000 miles downwind makes it much more real and visceral.
Edit: See this site for real-time Air Quality Index measurements and forecasts. The forecast for yesterday was red, today and tomorrow green, but the actual real-time measurements in most of the NYC area this morning are orange. Perhaps the forecast for today is lower because of the forecast thunderstorms this afternoon. One can also easily compare different kinds of pollution -- overall AQI, particulates under 2.5µm, ozone, sulfur dioxide, and carbon monoxide. For example, AQI, PM2.5, and CO were all in the red yesterday, as one would expect from wildfire smoke, while ozone and SO2 were both in the green.
