PENNSYLVANIA, USA — 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 Monday, July 29 for the Pittsburgh and central Pennsylvania regions.
Counties under the alert include Cumberland, Dauphin, Lebanon, Lancaster and York.
On Monday, light winds, and high temperatures in the low to mid 90s will likely contribute to 8-hour average concentrations of ozone in the Code Orange range.
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.
