Finding the freshest Breath

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No matter where in the world people travel to these days, there is no escaping the air we breathe. A great article was posted in Travel and Leisure magazine discussing the air quality from around the world. I chose a small piece from the article The Worlds Cleanest Air as well as listed the top 10 places to visit to find the cleanest air.

Even if you live in a clean, ecologically conscious area, you may be inhaling pollutants from faraway, less-pristine locales. Your hometown air may contain microscopic particles of mercury-coated coal dust from China, diesel from Europe, ozone from LA, or carbon monoxide from India —or possibly a cocktail of all of the above.

With more and more travelers looking to take a breather from pollution, it’s no surprise that destinations are starting to boast about having the world’s cleanest air. But even in the wilds of Alaska it’s possible to suck in trace elements of toxic fumes from Siberian coal mines. So where, exactly, can travelers go to be sure of finding pure O2?

Air cleanliness is usually measured by monitoring stations set up by local governments with the purpose of assessing long-term changes in carbon dioxide or ozone. These stations track air purity by measuring more than 250 pollutants, which can vary drastically in their harmfulness. Air that looks clean can still harbor invisible, odorless toxins, while a hazy horizon can sometimes be caused by harmless water vapor.

Travel and Leisure’s list of places with the cleanest air are: Tasmania, Big Island, HI, Iceland, Cape Peninsula, South Africa, Tahiti, Samoa, Antarctica, Easter Island, Patagonia’s Lakes, and South Island, New Zealand,

For more, visit Travel & Leisure