Bad Air Quality Again!

The bad air is back! It looks smoky and hazy again. Why? Smoke from wildfires in Georgia and Florida is continuing to be carried our way by an air flow coming from the Atlantic Coast.

Last May, central Alabama’s air quality was mostly is the good range, occasionally dropping to the moderate level. However, this May, most of our days have not been in the good range. We have stayed mostly moderate, but seven days this month have reached the unhealthy for sensitive groups level, and two days have reached the overall unhealthy level.

So why does smoke in the air pose such a hazard to us? Poor air quality is caused by pollutants in the air. Pollution can be a result of many things, including car exhaust or smoke from fires or factories. On hot days with little or no breeze, the air quality can be even worse, because the particles in the air cannot move away and disperse. Recently, we have had very warm temperatures and no storm systems moving through our area to diffuse the smoke, which has made our air quality even worse.

The different particles in the smoke can be harmful for people to inhale. It can make it hard to breath, cause you to cough, or make you feel tired. For most people, these symptoms go away when the air quality improves. However, people who already have respiratory problems such as asthma may have more long term problems from air pollution. To reduce your risk of having problems from pollution, you shouldn’t exert a lot of energy outside because that causes you to breath faster and get more particles in your lungs. Also, you should avoid adding to the pollution by reducing the amount you drive.

So, while these wildfires are affecting our air quality, everyone should take the proper precautions to keep themselves safe and healthy.

Hi, my name is Stephanie Frost and I am interning here at the station for the summer. I go to the University of Alabama and am working on my basic classes. After I finish all those, I’m going to be transferring to either the University of South Alabama or Mississippi State University to complete a degree in Meteorology! Hopefully one day you will be seeing me on the evening news telling you about the forecast. This is my first blog post, and I am really excited about interning here this summer with Jason, Ashley, and James. I hope you all have a blessed day!

Category: Pre-November 2010 Posts