|
|
|
Eastern Jackson County, MO —
There’s an ozone alert for Friday for the metro area, the second day in a row, meaning unhealthy concentrations of ground-level ozone.
The primary concern is for active children and adults and those with respiratory disease such as asthma, all of whom are advised to limit prolonged outdoor exertion. Officials also suggest driving less and consider public transit. Both the KCATA and IndeBus have 75-cent bus fares on ozone alert days. Avoid fueling your vehicle until after sundown; the vapors released during fueling create ozone when exposed to sunlight. Officials also advise putting off mowing, as lawnmowers and other gas-powered lawn equipment put off a surprising amount of pollution.
The air-quality problem is worse when it’s warm, as exhaust from smokestacks, cars, lawnmowers and other places mixes with air and sunlight to create ozone and the light breezes of summer do little to disperse it.
The Mid-America Regional Council posts a “sky cast” – green, yellow, orange or red – each day from April through October. Orange and red are ozone alerts. There have been several orange days this year. There hasn’t been a red day in 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 Friday of 94, though there is a 30 percent chance of scattered shows. Then it’s 96 Saturday, Sunday and Monday and 97 Tuesday and Wednesday. Unless a storm pops up, breezes will be light.
The skycast is posted at www.marc.org/airQ
National Weather Service, Pleasant Hill: www.weather.gov/kc
There’s an ozone alert for Friday for the metro area, the second day in a row, meaning unhealthy concentrations of ground-level ozone.
The primary concern is for active children and adults and those with respiratory disease such as asthma, all of whom are advised to limit prolonged outdoor exertion. Officials also suggest driving less and consider public transit. Both the KCATA and IndeBus have 75-cent bus fares on ozone alert days. Avoid fueling your vehicle until after sundown; the vapors released during fueling create ozone when exposed to sunlight. Officials also advise putting off mowing, as lawnmowers and other gas-powered lawn equipment put off a surprising amount of pollution.
The air-quality problem is worse when it’s warm, as exhaust from smokestacks, cars, lawnmowers and other places mixes with air and sunlight to create ozone and the light breezes of summer do little to disperse it.
The Mid-America Regional Council posts a “sky cast” – green, yellow, orange or red – each day from April through October. Orange and red are ozone alerts. There have been several orange days this year. There hasn’t been a red day in 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 Friday of 94, though there is a 30 percent chance of scattered shows. Then it’s 96 Saturday, Sunday and Monday and 97 Tuesday and Wednesday. Unless a storm pops up, breezes will be light.
The skycast is posted at www.marc.org/airQ
National Weather Service, Pleasant Hill: www.weather.gov/kc
