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Welcome to Brain Stuff, a production of IHeartRadio.

Hey, Brainstuff, Lauren Vogelbaum here.

There aren't too many positives to be found in air pollution. It's unhealthy, unsightly, and damaging to this planet that we as a species hope to spend a lot more time on.

But there's a pervasive urban legend of sorts that there is an upside here,

that smoggy cities like Los Angeles and Beijing, which host hazy skies most of the time,

at least get to have extra-brilliant sunsets to cough at as a result.

Could the phenomenon known as smog actually enhance sunsets?

The short answer is, well, sort of, but only to a certain extent.

To explain why, first, let's go over the science of sunsets and how different colors come to splash across the sky to begin with.

We've talked about this a bit before on the show, but it's work going over. Basically, the sky appears to be whatever color it is due to atmospheric distortion and the limits of human eyesight.

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