Holiday heat helps Houston win back smog crown
© 2000 Reuters Limited
September 11, 2000
HOUSTON - Blistering heat over the Labour Day holiday weekend helped put Houston back in front of Los Angeles as the nation's smoggiest city.
As of Thursday, Houston had clocked up 37 days on which ozone readings exceeded the federal health limit, compared to 34 days for Los Angeles, officials in Texas and California said.
While Los Angeles has had relatively mild weather recently, Houston has experienced a heat wave culminating in a record-setting 109 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius) Labour Day, Sept. 4.
Sunlight and ozone are key ingredients in the formation of smog, which is associated with illnesses such as asthma.
Houston overtook Los Angeles for the first time last year, when its ozone readings exceeded the federal limit on 52 days against 42 days for its California rival.
The Texas city typically records high-ozone readings later in the year than Los Angeles, with some of them occurring in late October and early November.