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Why is today an Air Quality Action Day today in the Lehigh Valley?
7/10/2019 (Permalink)
Why is today an Air Quality Action Day today in the Lehigh Valley?
Ozone is a colorless gas that can be good or bad, depending on where it is. Ozone in the stratosphere is good because it shields the earth from the sun’s ultraviolet rays. However Ozone at ground level, where we breathe, is bad because it can harm human health. Ground-level ozone is one of our nation’s most common air pollutants.Ozone can cause a number of health problems, including coughing, breathing difficulty, and lung damage. Exposure to ozone can make the lungs more susceptible to infection, aggravate lung diseases, increase the frequency of asthma attacks, and increase the risk of early death from heart or lung disease.
Today July 10, 2019 is an Air Quality Action Day in the Lehigh Valley with an expected score of 102 and is considered a code orange. This means based on the Air quality Index scoring chart that ranges from 0-500 with 0-50 being considered good that Air Quality conditions today may be unhealthy for sensitive groups of people. Sensitive groups include people with lung disease such as asthma, older adults, children, teenagers, and people who are active outdoors including outdoor workers.
A few precautions that can be taken to protect yourself and loved ones on days like today when bad air quality is expected could include…
• Choose a less-strenuous activity• Avoid exercising outdoors• Limit time that your children spend playing outdoors • Take more breaks during outdoor activity• Reschedule activities to the morning or to another day• Move your activity inside where ozone levels are usually lower• Check daily air pollution forecasts in your area. The color-coded forecasts can let you know when the air is unhealthy in your community.A few helpful resources to check the air pollution forecast in your area would be a local weather channel/app, airnow.gov, and even a free App you can download called Airnow App