Climate and Air Quality!

Novato has a mediterranean climate. This means that it has mild, cool winters and hot/ warm dry summers. Novato is fairly flat, and further away from the SF Bay than a lot of Bay Area cities, so there is not as much wind, and it is generally warmer. The below graph shows average high and average low temperatures for Novato. These averages are higher than San Francisco, Tiburon, and slightly lower than in San Jose.

This graph shows average rainfall per month, with the inches of rainfall listed above each bar. These are much higher than the average in San Jose slightly higher than San Francisco. They are much lower than Tiburon's which have averages around 9 inches for January and February, and around 7 inches in November and December.

This chart shows the air quality of Novato. PM2.5 is Particulate Matter Pollution, which are fine particles in the air. "Sources of fine particles include all types of combustion (motor vehicles, power plants, wood burning, etc.) and some industrial processes. Particles with diameters between 2.5 and 10 micrometers are referred to as "coarse". Sources of coarse particles include crushing or grinding operations, and dust from paved or unpaved roads."

"The pollutant 'bad' ozone forms near Earth's surface when the ultraviolet light in sunlight triggers a chemical reaction with "precursor pollutants" emitted by cars, power plants, and industrial sources. These precursor pollutants consist of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic hydrocarbons (VOC). Ozone near ground level is a harmful pollutant. Ozone levels are carefully monitored during the summer months when the weather conditions are perfect for it to form. Sunshine, hot temperatures, and high emissions of NOx and VOC pollutants lead to high levels of ozone."

(http://www.wunderground.com/resources/health/ozone.asp)

(http://www.wunderground.com/resources/health/pm.asp)

Sources : http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USCA0783