Calculating air pollution from wildfires and other events has become more complicated. That doesn’t mean it’s necessarily more accurate.

Air quality in wildfire-stricken Los Angeles improved on Thursday from hazardous peaks hit earlier this month, as tiny soot particles that can penetrate the lungs and brain dropped to moderate levels,

The hazardous air quality in Los Angeles is largely a result of smoke from the Pacific Palisades Fire, intensified by strong Santa Ana winds.