Air Quality Alert for Wednesday | Weather blog

Folks, it’s that time of year again. Tomorrow temperatures will start to rise again into the mid 80s and our air quality will also start to decline. Tomorrow, June 12, the first air quality alert of the season will be announced. This includes Louisville Metro, Bullitt and Oldham counties, as well as all of our communities in southern Indiana.

This AQ alert is aimed more at vulnerable groups this time and is not unhealthy for everyone as we sometimes see here in the summer. Below is text with more information about the content of the AQ alert and some recommended actions to help reduce emissions of ozone-forming substances.

The Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District and the Indiana
Department of Environmental Management have issued an Air Quality
Alert...IN EFFECT FROM 7 AM WEDNESDAY TO MIDNIGHT EDT WEDNESDAY
NIGHT.

A Code Orange Air Quality Alert for Ozone has been issued for the
Louisville Metro Area.

Members of sensitive groups may experience health effects. The
general public is not likely to be affected. Sensitive groups include
the elderly...children...persons with asthma or other breathing
problems...and persons with lung and heart disease. People in these
groups are advised to limit their outdoor activities to reduce their
exposure to ozone and particulate pollution.

Here are some recommended actions that the public can take to reduce
ozone forming emissions:

* Walk, bike, carpool or use public transportation.
* Avoid using the drive-through and combine errands into one trip.
* Avoid refueling your vehicle or using gasoline-powered lawn
  equipment until after 7 PM.
* Turn off your engine when idling for more than 30 seconds.
* Conserve energy by turning off lights or setting the air
  conditioner to 75 degrees or above.