It was that bad in the 60’s and early 70’s at times. It could become painful to breathe, and I’m a healthy person. I see the invention of the catalytic converter as a huge achievement. By 1975 all new cars had them, so by 1979 horrible smog was more a myth than reality. I’m sure 0 heard about how bad it was (part of evil capitalism, don’t you know), but I doubt he actually lived it. The inventor of the catalytic converter should get his name put alongside other engineers on the Eiffel Tower (he was French).
Wouldn't have been an Eiffel Tower without Otis Brothers & Company to design the lifts to the second level. Originally they were rejected because they didn't want foreign companies to work on the tower, but none of the French companies were able to come up with a good design for the lifts.
You are right about the smog.
In Burbank where my folks’ friends lived, it was so bad your eyes would burn.
Luckily my folks lived in one of the beach cities.
Smog was in the LA basin long before there were cars. The inversion layer traps anything that resembles smoke. That includes particles released by vegetation.
There’s plenty of paints and solvents that you can no longer buy in SoCal because they are prohibited by the AQMD.