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Pittsburg

Pittsburgh ( /ˈpɪtsbərɡ/, pits-burg) is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States. The population of the city in 2010 was 305,704, while that of the seven-county metropolitan area stood at 2,356,285. Downtown Pittsburgh retains substantial economic influence, ranking at 25th in the nation for jobs within the urban core and 6th in job density. The characteristic shape of Pittsburgh's central business district is a triangular tract carved by the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, which form the Ohio River. The city features 151 high-rise buildings, 446 bridges, two inclined railways, and a pre-revolutionary fortification. Pittsburgh is known colloquially as "The City of Bridges" and "The Steel City" for its many bridges and former steel manufacturing base.

While the city is historically known for its steel industry, today its economy is largely based on healthcare, education, technology, robotics, and financial services. The downturn of the steel industry left no steel mills within the City of Pittsburgh and only two remaining mills in the county, though more than 300 steel-related businesses remain in the area. By contrast, the region supports 1,600 technology companies, ranging from a Google campus to small startups. The city has redeveloped abandoned industrial sites with new housing, shopping and offices, such as SouthSide Works and Bakery Square.

While Pittsburgh faced an economic crisis in the 1980s as the regional steel industry waned, modern Pittsburgh is economically strong. The housing market is relatively stable despite a national subprime mortgage crisis, and Pittsburgh added jobs in 2008 even as the national economy entered a significant jobs recession. This positive economic trend is in contrast to the 1980s, when Pittsburgh lost its manufacturing base in steel and electronics, and corporate jobs in the oil (Gulf Oil), electronics (Westinghouse), chemical (Koppers) and defense (Rockwell International) industries.

The city is headquarters to major global financial institutions PNC Financial Services (the nation's sixth largest bank), Federated Investors and the regional headquarters of BNY Mellon, descended from Mellon Financial and the Mellon family. Major publications often note Pittsburgh's high livability compared to other American cities, with the city claiming the top overall spot in the United States in recent "most livable city" lists by Rand McNally (2007), Forbes (2010), and The Economist (2011).

For one year Pittsburg uses 5,750,000,000/3 kwh of energy, which costs $230,000,000.00, and it generates 1,285,125 tons of co2, 2,875/12 tons of mercury a year, a 5,750,000 cubic meter lake, a 3,855,375/8 cubic meter tank of gasoline, 2,300,000/3 tons of coal, 295,781,893/2 cubic yards of landfill space,

1 Climate
- 1.1 Air quality and pollution
2 Notes
3 References

Climate Edit

Pittsburgh lies in the transition between the humid continental and humid subtropical climate zones (Köppen Dfa/Cfa), but is closer to the former. It features four distinct seasons, with precipitation somewhat evenly spread throughout the year. Summers are hot and humid (with occasional heatwaves), while winters are cold and snowy. Spring and autumn are mild to warm.

The warmest month of the year in Pittsburgh is July, with a 24-hour average of 72.6 °F (22.6 °C). Conditions are often humid, and combined with the 90 °F (32 °C) (occurring on an average 8.4 days per annum),^[1] a considerable heat index arises. The coldest month is January, when the 24-hour average is 27.5 °F (−2.5 °C), and sub-zero lows (below −18 °C) can be expected on an average 3.9 nights per year.^[1] Extremes in temperature range from −22 °F (−30 °C), on January 19, 1994 to 103 °F (39 °C), which last occurred on July 16, 1988.

Total precipitation is greatest in May and least is October, and the average annual precipitation is 37.9 inches (963 mm), yet, on average, December and January have the greatest number of days with precipitation. Snowfall averages 40.3 inches (102 cm) per season. In terms of cloudiness, there is an average of 59 clear days and 103 partly-cloudy days per year, while 203 days are cloudy.^[2] In terms of annual percent-average possible sunshine received, Pittsburgh (45%) is similar to Seattle (43%).^[3]

Although Pittsburgh generally experiences moderate weather, a few extreme weather events occurred between 1990 and 2010. The Blizzard of 1993 dumped over 23 inches (58 cm) of snow in under 24 hours, and the First North American blizzard of 2010 dumped nearly 2 feet (60 cm) of snow in less than 24 hours.^[4]^[5] An F2 tornado entered city limits on June 2, 1998. In September 2004, the remnants of Hurricane Ivan brought gusty winds and dropped nearly 6 inches (200 mm) of rain in 12 hours.

Climate data for Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh International Airport)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °F (°C)	75 (24)	77 (25)	84 (29)	90 (32)	95 (35)	98 (37)	103 (39)	103 (39)	102 (39)	91 (33)	82 (28)	74 (23)	103 (39)
Average high °F (°C)	35.1 (1.7)	38.8 (3.8)	49.5 (9.7)	60.7 (15.9)	70.8 (21.6)	79.1 (26.2)	82.7 (28.2)	81.1 (27.3)	74.2 (23.4)	62.5 (16.9)	50.5 (10.3)	39.8 (4.3)	60.40 (15.78)
Average low °F (°C)	19.9 (−6.7)	22.3 (−5.4)	30.1 (−1.1)	39.1 (3.9)	49.2 (9.6)	57.7 (14.3)	62.4 (16.9)	61.0 (16.1)	53.9 (12.2)	42.5 (5.8)	34.2 (1.2)	25.3 (−3.7)	41.47 (5.26)
Record low °F (°C)	−22 (−30)	−20 (−29)	−1 (−18)	11 (−12)	26 (−3)	34 (1)	42 (6)	39 (4)	31 (−1)	16 (−9)	−1 (−18)	−12 (−24)	−22 (−30)
Precipitation inches (mm)	2.70 (68.6)	2.37 (60.2)	3.17 (80.5)	3.01 (76.5)	3.80 (96.5)	4.12 (104.6)	3.96 (100.6)	3.38 (85.9)	3.21 (81.5)	2.25 (57.2)	3.02 (76.7)	2.86 (72.6)	37.85 (961.4)
Snowfall inches (cm)	11.9 (30.2)	8.5 (21.6)	8.1 (20.6)	1.5 (3.8)	trace	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	.4 (1)	3.1 (7.9)	6.8 (17.3)	40.3 (102.4)
Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in)</span>	16.5	13.6	14.9	13.6	13.1	12.0	10.4	10.0	10.7	10.2	12.9	15.4	153.3
Avg. snowy days (≥ 0.1 in)</span>	11.5	8.1	6.8	2.2	0	0	0	0	0	.2	3.8	7.8	40.4
Sunshine hours	93.0	110.2	155.0	183.0	217.0	243.0	254.2	229.4	198.0	167.4	99.0	74.4	2,023.6
Source no. 1: NOAA (normals, 1971–2000)^[1], HKO (sun only, 1961–1990)^[6]
Source no. 2: Weather.com (extremes)^[7]

Air quality and pollution Edit

In a 2011 ranking of 277 metropolitan areas in the United States, the American Lung Association ranked the Pittsburgh metropolitan area as having the third-worst pollution by short-term particle pollution, as well as the seventh-worst pollution by year-round particle pollution and the 24th-worst ozone pollution.^[8] The ALA also gave Allegheny County an 'F' grade for both high ozone days and high particle pollution days in the period of 2007–2009. Although the county was still below the "pass" threshold, the report demonstrated substantial improvement compared to previous decades on every measure of air quality. For example, there were more than 40 high ozone days reported between 1997 and 1999, a figure which fell to fewer than 15 between 2007 and 2009.^[8]

The Allegheny County Health Department also notes this improvement in air quality. Department spokesman Guillermo Cole stated that "It's the best it's been in the lifetime for virtually every resident in this county…We've seen a steady decrease in pollution levels over the past decade and certainly over the past 20, 30, 40, 50 years or more."^[9]

In 2008, the American Lung Association ranked the Pittsburgh area as the nation's third most polluted metropolitan area, behind Los Angeles and Bakersfield, CA.^[10] This ranking was disputed by the Allegheny County Health Department, since data from only one of Pittsburgh's 20 air quality monitors were used by the ALA. Furthermore, the monitor used is located downwind of U.S. Steel's Clairton Coke Works, the nation's largest coke plant.^[11]