The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has issued a Code Orange Air Quality Action Day for ozone for Wednesday, August 25, 2021.
The following areas are under the Code Orange: Southeastern counties of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia; Lehigh Valley-Berks Area, which includes the counties of Berks, Lehigh, and Northampton; and the southcentral counties of Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, and York; Southwestern counties of Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington, and Westmoreland; and Indiana county.
Mostly sunny skies, 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 on Wednesday.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 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 issued 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 areas are strongly encouraged to voluntarily help reduce 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.
