DEP Declares Air Quality Action Day Tuesday, June 13 For Southeast PA

The Department of Environmental Protection and the Air Quality Partnership have forecast Tuesday, June 13 will be an Air Quality Action for Southeast Pennsylvania, including the counties of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia.

On Tuesday, a strong ridge of high pressure across eastern North Carolina will allow for mostly sunny skies, light winds and temperatures to extend into the 90s for the third day in a row. As a result of the sunny and warm conditions, ozone is expected to rise into the Code ORANGE range.

The limiting factor for ozone will be the arrival of clouds from the north as a cool front coming southward into central Pennsylvania.

These elevated ozone levels are not expected to extend past Tuesday thanks to the frontal system mentioned above producing increased cloud cover and onshore flow by Wednesday allowing temperatures to drop back into the 80s.

On air quality action days, 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.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s standardized air quality index uses colors to report daily air quality. Green signifies good; yellow means moderate; orange represents unhealthy pollution levels for sensitive people; and red warns of unhealthy pollution levels for all.

To help keep the air healthy, residents and business are encouraged to voluntarily restrict certain pollution-producing activities by:

-- Refueling cars and trucks after dusk

-- Setting air conditioner thermostats to a higher temperature

-- Carpooling or using public transportation; and

-- Combining errands to reduce trips.

These forecasts are provided in conjunction with Air Quality Partnerships for the Delaware Valley.

For more information, visit DEP’s Air Quality Partnership webpage.

Share this post