Something in the air tonight

SINCE the 1940s, southern California has had a reputation for smog. Things are not as bad as once they were but, according to the American Lung Association, a health group, Los Angeles is still the worst city in the United States for levels of ozone, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide. Gazing down on the city from the Getty Centre, an art museum in the Santa Monica Mountains, haze can blot out the view of the Pacific Ocean. Nor is the state’s bad air restricted to its south. Fresno, in the central valley, comes top of the list in America for year-round particulate pollution. Residents’ hearts and lungs are strained as a consequence.