Where can you go to breathe easier? It may not be where you think.
Take a deep breath. Chances are, the air filling your lungs is far from pure. 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 Los Angeles, 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; Tasmania, Hawaii, and Antarctica have all staked their claim. 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?
Answering that question, it turns out, is far from easy. There’s no worldwide clearinghouse for this information, and even defining the term “clean air” can be challenging.
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. “The whole picture is so complex,” says Russell Schnell, a deputy director at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, explaining that pollutants come in many forms. Air that looks clean can still harbor invisible, odorless toxins, while a hazy horizon can sometimes be caused by harmless water vapor.
Another variable is where these stations are set up. Put one in the center of Honolulu and it will give different results than one on top of 11,000-foot Mauna Loa, where Hawaii’s station is. Up there, the air’s virtually free of pollution, so it’s no surprise that the Big Island makes an appearance on our list.
To further complicate matters, pollution levels can change seasonally. Light, cold, and rain can change the air’s composition. “One of the cleanest places on earth is probably in the South Pacific—but only during the wet season,” says Mark Jacobson, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University. During that time of year, he says, rain can wash away pollutants.
In other words, data alone couldn’t help us find the world’s cleanest air—which is why we didn’t rank our list. We also turned to the experts; by collecting opinions from groups like NASA and the World Meteorological Organization, we were able to glean enough information to put together our list of worldwide easy-breathing spots.
There were a few surprises along the way. It came as quite a shock, for instance, that all of Continental Europe had to be excluded from our list. (The reason: population density combined with reliance on diesel engines.) Another surprise?Forest air doesn’t necessarily mean clean air. While destinations with abundant foliage do soak up carbon dioxide, trees and traffic can be a hazardous mix. “When you smell lemon, for example, you’re really smelling the hydrocarbon limonene, a gas emitted by lemons,” explains Jacobson. “When it combines with sunlight and oxides of nitrogen from cars, it produces the pollutant nitrogen. That’s one of the reasons there is so much pollution in some parks.”
Surely tropical islands are free from nasty particles?Not necessarily. The preponderance of older cars on many islands (Jacobson estimates that 1,000 old cars without emission controls produce as much pollution as 100,000 new cars), along with the fact that many of these idyllic places burn sugarcane, winds up causing a lot of pollution. As a result, much of the Caribbean and Equatorial Asia didn’t make the cut—though Tahiti did.
One area with an especially strong quotient of clean: the Southern Hemisphere. Up north, more land, cities, people, and cars mean that even the cleanest places are twice as dirty as remote southern locales. “The two hemispheres are pretty separated dynamically,” says Daniel Jacob, professor of atmospheric chemistry and environmental engineering at Harvard University. He explains that weather patterns (and therefore air molecules) circulate rapidly around the globe in an easterly direction, but are discouraged from moving to another hemisphere by the still air at the equator known as the doldrums. “The air in northern latitudes takes about a month to circle the globe, but it takes about a year to cross the equator,” he says.
So where can travelers go for a breath of fresh air? Some places, while undoubtedly pure, were too remote and lacking in tourism infrastructure to consider (our apologies to the Indian Ocean’s Kerguelen Island and its 70 year-round inhabitants). But here’s our list of more easily reachable destinations with super-clean air—and 10 ways to fill your lungs with it.
Tasmania
Clean-Air Credentials: “The air in Tasmania is as clean as it is in Antarctica,” says Paul Fraser, an expert in ozone and climate change from Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. “If you go further south in the Southern Hemisphere, the background concentrations of pollutants don’t change much.”
Take a Breather: In summer, when the roaring forties bring relief from the heat, hike the South Coast Track with Tasmania Walks on an epic eight-day odyssey among 600,000 acres of pristine coastal wilderness
Big Island, Hawaii
Clean-Air Credentials: According to Russell Schnell, Hawaii can receive significant pollution from China but still it manages to record the cleanest air on earth. How?By rising above it, literally. Pollution particles stop climbing when they meet the inversion layer, an atmospheric boundary of warmer air. At 11,145 feet, the Mauna Loa observatory is above the clouds and, therefore, virtually free of pollution.
Take a Breather: To sample the subtle difference, start at sea level, paddling a traditional outrigger canoe (the “Beachboy” program at the Fairmont Orchid has trained instructors). Next, hop in a car (a hybrid, of course) and go where the air is truly clear: the Mauna Loa scenic trail—one of the few locations on earth where it’s possible to drive above the inversion layer—and hike the six miles to the summit.
Iceland
Clean-Air Credentials: “Air passing through Canada and Greenland is scrubbed free of particles by rain and clouds before it reaches Iceland,” says the NOAA’s Russell Schnell, explaining that, unfortunately, what gaseous pollution was there to start with is sure to remain. What makes Iceland unique (and worthy of inclusion) is the fact that the pristine air extends well beyond the measuring station. Iceland’s power and heat are generated almost entirely from clean, renewable hydroelectric and geothermal sources.
Take a Breather: Maintain the purity of this unspoiled land by exploring by horseback rather than horsepower. Purebred Icelandic horses are direct descendants of Viking livestock and renowned for their friendly nature—just ask Hróðmar Bjarnason. He cofounded Eldhestar riding tours and, rather appropriately, is also a direct Viking descendant.
Cape Peninsula, South Africa
Clean-Air Credentials: South Africa was a controversial entry in our list because of coal- and bio-mass burning, but Cape Point observatory, overlooking both the Indian and Atlantic oceans in Table Mountain National Park, still records some mighty pure air—especially in a southerly gale.
Take a Breather: Take a paragliding adventure with Parapax Tandem Paragliding Flights (South Africa’s most established paragliding tour company), and see for yourself if the two oceans are different colors, as rumored.
Tahiti
Clean-Air Credentials: Harvard University’s Daniel Jacob recommends Tahiti’s more remote lagoons and unpopulated motus as excellent destinations for clean air. Just don’t breathe the air in Papeete, which is rendered impure by the old cars and motorcycles.
Take a Breather: Championship kiteboarder Moehau Goold has traveled the world with his extreme sport and rates Bora Bora the best place on earth for kiteboarding. “It has the best kite spots because it’s so beautiful and clean and there are no big industries or boats to pollute the lagoon,” he says. Go fly with Kite Tahiti—the best time is June to September, when the trade winds blow. Locals head for Matria Point on the south side of Bora Bora in the middle of the most touristed area; with only 25 active kiteboarders on the island, you’re unlikely to get your lines crossed.
Samoa
Clean-Air Credentials: Because of the sultry tropical climate and southern locale, the air that reaches the northern tip of Tutuila Island in American Samoa is as pristine as can be. Even the observatory there is eco-friendly, with 30 percent of its power generated by solar panels.
Take a Breather: Catch the wind before the scientists by taking a Wave Jumper beyond the lagoon and into the surf zone at Fagamalo break—as yet the meteorological instrumentation cannot measure fear.
Antarctica
Clean-Air Credentials: “In spite of the fact that Antarctica doesn’t get a lot of sun, it’s sufficiently remote to have clean air,” says Stanford’s Mark Jacobson. (The Arctic Circle, while also remote, is nowhere near as clean, receiving a cocktail of background pollution from Russia, Europe, and North America.)
Take a Breather: Strap on some skis and move like the wind with a new adventure sport, kite skiing. Patrick Woodhead, director of White Desert adventure camp (which offers the experience to guests) used it on recent expeditions to traverse 900 miles of wild terrain. “It’s the perfect way to travel in such an environment,” he says.
Easter Island
Clean-Air Credentials: Both Harvard University’s Daniel Jacob and the NOAA’s Russell Schnell agree that Easter Island is a good clean-air bet, but Schnell adds that there is a small problem with emissions from diesel generators.
Take a Breather: When the wind and waves are calm and airborne smells tend to linger, take clean air to-go by breathing it from a scuba tank. Dive operators like Mike Rapu Diving Center explore the cobalt seas, famous for 120-foot visibility, volcanic caverns, and locations where scuba divers can swim up close and personal with submerged Moai statues.
Patagonia’s Lakes
Clean-Air Credentials: “The southern tip of South America is really clean,” says Harvard University’s Daniel Jacob. It’s so clean, in fact, that the baseline air monitoring station located just three miles from the Argentinean city of Ushuaia still effectively records zero pollutants for much of the year. A combination of Southern Hemisphere advantage, remote location, and 160 rain days a year makes for a very breathable environment.
Take a Breather: Strap on some hiking boots and head for the lakes. Country Walkers conducts walking tours of Patagonia and Chile’s Lakes district, including Torres del Paine National Park, a mountainous glacial region declared a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve in 1978.
South Island, New Zealand
Clean-Air Credentials: The wind arriving at Baring Head meteorological station at the bottom of New Zealand’s North Island, under a chilly southerly airstream, originates from an area of almost no human activity whatsoever—the oceans around Antarctica. Drink it in on the South Island: with just 25 percent of the country’s population, there are fewer people upwind.
Take a Breather: Make doubly sure that every breath is pure by leaving the land and learning the fine art of mountain soaring. Glider pilots climb the mountain thermals to cruise at 12,313 feet over the snow-covered peak of Mount Cook, New Zealand’s tallest point. Go with Southern Soaring.
Originally published on TravelandLeisure.com. The format has been altered to suit Tumblr. To view the original version click here.
