Air-quality alerts from wildfire smoke and ozone are extended in the Philly area
The heat and humidity mixed with smoke resulted in a "code orange" alert for Philly and its suburban counties.
Tuesday’s scorching hot and stiflingly humid weather arrived with yet another wild card of summer discomfort in the form of air-quality concerns.
That heat and humidity mixed with smoke from the ongoing Canadian wildfires prompted the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to issue a “code orange” air-quality alert Tuesday for Philadelphia and its collar counties in the Keystone State. The air-quality alert will remain in effect for the region Wednesday.
Likewise, the department’s New Jersey counterpart issued a code orange alert Tuesday for several areas, including Camden, Gloucester, and Burlington Counties, later extending it through Wednesday. Delaware, similarly, was under a code orange alert Tuesday.
The alert is over increased levels of ozone in the region, which were expected to reach their peak Tuesday afternoon, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection said in a statement. Ozone is formed when “airborne chemicals such as nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds” react with sunlight.
High levels are often common in summer, and wildfire smoke can result in the formation of additional ozone, the department added.
The result is ozone pollution that can affect individuals with respiratory issues, as well as young children and elderly people, prompting the code orange alert — or Code Orange Air Quality Action Day, as it is officially known. The department advised unhealthy or vulnerable groups to limit their time outside while the alert is in effect.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control made similar recommendations. The Pennsylvania department also asked that Philly-area residents take several steps to reduce pollution, including conserving electricity and driving less if possible.
Wednesday was initially expected to have “moderate” levels of ozone, one step below the levels that prompted Tuesday’s code orange alert, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. However, ozone levels were later expected to “rise to the code orange range for several hours during the afternoon,” according to the agency’s AirNow website, prompting the alert.
Air-quality issues in the region come amid a previously issued heat advisory from the National Weather Service that is expected to last through 8 p.m. Wednesday. Temperatures could reach into the upper 90s, threatening to tie Philadelphia’s previous record of 98 degrees for July 29 and 30, set in 2002 and 1988, respectively. Heat indexes, meanwhile, could max out at 100 to 105 degrees.
The region is expected to get a break come Friday following a bout of showers and thunderstorms late Thursday, which could result in potentially heavy rainfall. Temps Friday look to be “unseasonably cool,” the weather service said in its forecast Tuesday, possibly staying under 80 degrees.
Meteorological fall, it should be noted, is a mere 33 days away.