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Eastern Jackson County, MO —
It's going to gradually grow hotter over the next several days, and the metro area is under another ozone alert for Thursday.
Ozone can cause difficult breathing as well as coughing and wheezing, so reduce their outdoor activities and consider doing those before 10 a.m. or after 7 p.m. Ozone pollution also can worsen underlying health conditions, and those with breathing or heart problems are advised to keep medicines nearby. It's also a good idea to check on others with such conditions.
Thursday's alert is for six counties: Jackson, Platte and Clay in Missouri and Johnson, Wyandotte and Leavenworth in Kansas.
To lessen the overall problem, officials suggest driving less. Find a carpool, or take the bus. Fares on both KCATA and IndeBus are cut to 75 cents on orange alert days. The Mid-America Regional Council, which posts the daily skycast, strongly suggests not mowing the lawn during an alert. It says a lawnmower running for an hour can put out as much pollution as a newer, efficient car does in going 140 miles. Also, put off filling up your car with gas during an alert, at least until 7 p.m. The vapors released during refueling mix with sunlight to create more ozone.
MARC's daily skycast runs green, yellow, orange and red. Orange and red are alerts. The area has had about half a dozen orange alerts so far this year. There hasn't been a red alert for several years.
The conditions that lead to ozone alerts – sunny days with high temperatures, plus light breezes that do little to dissipate pollutants – are expected to stick around for days. The National Weather Service sees a high Thursday of 93 today, 94 Friday and again Saturday, 96 Sunday and 98 Monday and Tuesday. Winds will be light, and no rain is in the forecast.
The skycast is posted at www.marc.org/airQ
National Weather Service, Pleasant Hill: www.weather.gov/kc
It's going to gradually grow hotter over the next several days, and the metro area is under another ozone alert for Thursday.
Ozone can cause difficult breathing as well as coughing and wheezing, so reduce their outdoor activities and consider doing those before 10 a.m. or after 7 p.m. Ozone pollution also can worsen underlying health conditions, and those with breathing or heart problems are advised to keep medicines nearby. It's also a good idea to check on others with such conditions.
Thursday's alert is for six counties: Jackson, Platte and Clay in Missouri and Johnson, Wyandotte and Leavenworth in Kansas.
To lessen the overall problem, officials suggest driving less. Find a carpool, or take the bus. Fares on both KCATA and IndeBus are cut to 75 cents on orange alert days. The Mid-America Regional Council, which posts the daily skycast, strongly suggests not mowing the lawn during an alert. It says a lawnmower running for an hour can put out as much pollution as a newer, efficient car does in going 140 miles. Also, put off filling up your car with gas during an alert, at least until 7 p.m. The vapors released during refueling mix with sunlight to create more ozone.
MARC's daily skycast runs green, yellow, orange and red. Orange and red are alerts. The area has had about half a dozen orange alerts so far this year. There hasn't been a red alert for several years.
The conditions that lead to ozone alerts – sunny days with high temperatures, plus light breezes that do little to dissipate pollutants – are expected to stick around for days. The National Weather Service sees a high Thursday of 93 today, 94 Friday and again Saturday, 96 Sunday and 98 Monday and Tuesday. Winds will be light, and no rain is in the forecast.
The skycast is posted at www.marc.org/airQ
National Weather Service, Pleasant Hill: www.weather.gov/kc
