With temperatures on the rise today, so are ozone concentrations in the air that we breathe.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued a warning that, with the help of high temperatures, air pollution has risen to unhealthy levels for sensitive people. It is asking for residents of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties to voluntarily reduce their emissions by carpooling or using public transportation, combining errands, minimizing engine-idling, fueling after dusk, raising air conditioner temperatures, and turning off lights when not in use.
Air quality is rated on a colored scale representing four categories.
Green – Good
Yellow – Moderate
Orange – Unhealthy for sensitive people
Red – Unhealthy for all
See the complete release here:
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has declared a Code Orange Air Quality Action Day for ozone for Tuesday, May 31, 2022, in the Philadelphia Area, which includes the counties of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia.
Mostly sunny skies and high temperatures in the mid-90s will likely contribute to 8-hour average concentrations of ozone in the Code Orange range on Tuesday.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Air Quality Index (AQI) provides standardized color codes for forecasting and reporting daily air quality. Green signifies good air quality; Yellow means moderate air quality; Orange represents unhealthy pollution levels for sensitive groups of people; and Red warns of unhealthy pollution levels for all.
An Air Quality Action Day is declared when the AQI is forecasted to be Code Orange or higher. On an Air Quality Action Day, young children, the elderly, and those with respiratory problems, such as asthma, emphysema, and bronchitis, are especially vulnerable to the effects of air pollution and should limit outdoor activities.
Residents and businesses within the Air Quality Action Day area are strongly encouraged to voluntarily help reduce ozone air pollution by:
• Driving less by carpooling or using public transportation;
• Combining errands to reduce vehicle trips;
• Limiting engine idling;
• Refueling cars and trucks after dusk; and
• Conserving electricity by setting air conditioning to a higher temperature and turning off lights that are not in use.
For more information, visit DEP at www.ahs.dep.pa.gov/AQPartnersWeb, EPA’s AirNow at www.airnow.gov, or Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission’s Air Quality Partnership at www.airqualitypartnership.org.
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