Before we left the mountain resort where we spent a few days, I took this picture with my phone from one of the top floors of our hotel:
What do you think that is? Fog or smog? Remember, that is a mountain resort.
If you said fog, you are at least partially correct, since smog comes from the combination of smoke + fog words.
Fog doesn't appear to describe the phenomenon fully though.
On the floor I was when I took the picture, the air was fresh. So I could have said it was fog.
But the previous two evenings I tried to go out to get some fresh air since I don't enjoy loud music, dancing, or alcohol. I was surprised to notice the air was unexpectedly heavy. So, I went back inside in less than one or two minutes. And instead of fresh air, I remained in the lobby and checked out what was going on on Hive.
The interesting part is this heavy air lifts throughout the day like the usual fog does. I took a walk on Christmas Day at around 11 am, and the air seemed as clean as it usually is (or as I am used to it at this resort).
We are familiar with smog related to large metropolitan or industrial areas, but it was news to me in a mountain area.
So, I questioned ChatGPT about it. Check out its answer:
Yes, the resort is located in a valley surrounded very closely by mountains. And yes, it was about to be a warmer day, the sun was already out and probably the upper layers of the atmosphere from the valley got warmer while down at the surface level the cold temperatures and the pollution persisted.
I imagine that most pollutants come from the heating systems that go into action mostly at nighttime. And given the topography of the area, it takes time for them to disperse in the morning.
What I learned is something useful for the future. In this resort (or any other with a similar topography), during cold seasons it's not a good idea to spend much time outside in the evening/night or early in the morning. Unless you climb higher. 😅