HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Code Orange Air Quality alert has been issued for most of central Pennsylvania.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has forecasted the action day for Tuesday, July 9 for the Philadelphia and central Pennsylvania regions.
Counties under the alert include Cumberland, Dauphin, Lebanon, Lancaster and York.
On Tuesday, mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the middle to upper 90s should create conditions for robust ozone development and formation in the code Orange range during the afternoon hours.
An Air Quality Action Day is issued when the AQI is forecasted to be code orange or higher. On air quality action days, 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 areas are strongly encouraged to voluntarily help reduce air pollution by:
- Conserving electricity by setting air conditioning to a higher temperature;
- Combining errands to reduce vehicle trips;
- Limiting engine idling; and
- Refueling cars and trucks after dusk.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Air Quality Index provides 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.
