Phoenix rang in the 2025 New Year with some of the worst air quality ever recorded in the Valley. And the Maricopa County Air Quality Department is urging residents to help keep skies clearer for New Year’s 2026.
The Valley is shaped like a big bowl, and in the winter, cooler weather creates a pressure change that pushes pollution lower to the earth, trapping it right over the city, said Maricopa County Air Quality Department spokesperson Ari Halpert.
On New Year’s Eve, at-home fireworks supercharge the problem.
“Jan. 1, 2025 we had the third-worst air quality in the world, the worst in the nation, and the main culprit for that were consumer fireworks,” Halpert said. “We ask everyone to celebrate in a different way.”…