‘88 Ranked 3rd Worst Smog Year of Decade

As Los Angeles basked in warmer than normal temperatures and enjoyed fair skies Thursday, air quality officials reported that 1988 has had one of the worst smog seasons of the decade.

Ozone levels in the South Coast Air Basin surpassed federal standards on 172 days, a level exceeded this decade only in 1981 with 180 days and in 1984 with 173 days.

Generally measured between May 1 and Oct. 31, the smog season is characterized by hot temperatures and stagnant air. Changing weather patterns from year to year account for much of the difference in ozone, officials said, adding that ozone levels have declined during the 1980s when weather conditions are factored out.

Ozone lowers resistance to infection, exacerbates chronic respiratory illness and can cause permanent lung damage to people exposed to high levels over a period of several years.

‘Bad News’

“Despite the bad news, there is some good in the latest (ozone) figures,” said Riverside County Supervisor Norton Younglove, chairman of the South Coast Air Quality Management District. “Namely, the number of first-stage alerts continued a downward trend.”

He said air pollution reached first-stage alert levels of at least .20 parts per million for one hour in various communities on 75 days so far this year. Only 1982 with 63 first-stage alerts and 1987 with 66 had fewer episodes.

The only second-stage alert--called when pollutants reach .35 p.p.m.--occurred Sept. 2, when Upland reached that level for an hour, officials said.

When ozone reaches an hourly average of .12 p.p.m., federal Environmental Protection Agency officials consider it unhealthy for everyone.

Air this year may have been dirtier, but a mild Santa Ana condition over the Los Angeles Basin kept skies clear Thursday, and a forecaster said the weekend should remain fair and mild.

A high-pressure system over Utah is responsible for producing winds from the east, giving the Los Angeles area warmer weather, said Patricia Cooper, a meteorologist with WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times.

“Temperatures are 10 to 15 degrees higher than normal for late November and December,” Cooper said Thursday. “The weekend won’t be quite as warm.”

High temperatures in coastal areas will range from the upper 60s to the low 70s, and the mercury will settle into the 70s in inland areas. The high deserts will top out in the 60s, and low deserts will see highs from the mid-70s to low 80s. Mountain areas will reach highs from the 50s to the low 60s.

The Los Angeles Civic Center reached a high of 80 on Thursday, but high temperatures there over the weekend will hover in the mid-70s.

“The high over Utah should break down by midweek, and the normal onshore flow of air should return,” Cooper said. “Temperatures should be cooler, but there won’t be any really bad weather. The area will stay mild with temperatures in the 60s to low 70s.