Albuquerque, NM

I have just returned to Flagstaff, AZ, from Albuquerque, a good 5.5-6 hour drive, due to the rain. Here's what I found out of personal experience. I could run in Albuquerque for 4 days, without any asthma.. yayyy! While I would rate my breathing a little below Flagstaff, it still was way better than San Francisco! In Santa Fe, surprisingly, I had a bit of trouble breathing, even though the air is supposed to be one of the cleanest in the country. In fact I did have to take a puff of my inhaler. I am curious if it was something along the lines of pollens or perhaps the air was cold and dry enough that it actually irritated my lungs. Cold, dry air is known as an asthma trigger. However it did rule out that altitude was somehow the reason my asthma went away, as Flagstaff and Santa Fe share the same altitude. Here's some stats on Albuquerque:

Altitude: 5280
Humidity: 58AM, 29PM
Ozone: A (American Lung Association State of the air report.)
Particulates: B & C (American Lung Association State of the Air report). This is for Sandoval and Bernalillo. I was told my hotel was on the Sandoval side, which is supposed to be the 'cleaner' side.
The EPA has this data for Sandoval: 94 days where PM2.5 exceeded the limit, 7 unhealthy days, and 14 unhealthy days for sensitive people. I am not sure what to make of this yet. You can see the data here.
This does lend some credibility to the idea that humidity plays a factor but I won't be sure until I am in Hawaii, where I will compare clean, humid air to Flagstaff's air.

*However, until I can actually compare the actual specific particulates being used to generate the PM10, and PM2.5 data, I won't be able to compare apples to apples. For example - there could be more particulates in Albuquerque, but those particulates could be less apt to generate an asthmatic response than the particulates that we breathe in San Francisco.

I will leave for Hawaii on Saturday or Sunday, and might not be able to post any information for 4-5 days. If this trip provides any information that could help a researcher, I would be very happy. It would be fantastic if a there was some definitive research done on where is the best place for asthmatics to live, and why! Up till now, no doctor, ENT specialist, allergy & asthma specialist has been able to provide me with that information.