FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. — An air quality alert has been issued for Friday for southern Fairfield County by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
The alert is in effect from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. The department is predicting that ozone and fine particulates in the air will reach "unhealthy standards," according to Environmental Protection Agency guidelines.
Daytime temperatures are predicted to hit the low to mid 90s on Friday. It will be “hot and becoming moderately humid through the weekend,” according to the National Weather Service.The weather and air quality is forecast as "unhealthy for sensitive groups" such as active children, adults with respiratory diseases and the elderly.
For more information about the alert, visit the DEEP website and click on air quality index.
AirNow, a department within the EPA, recommends that members of sensitive groups limit the amount of time spent outside. Breathing high levels of ozone can be hazardous to your health. High levels of ozone may:
- Make it more difficult to breathe deeply and vigorously.
- Cause shortness of breath and pain when taking a deep breath.
- Cause coughing and sore or scratchy throat.
- Inflame and damage the lung lining.
- Make the lungs more susceptible to infection.
- Aggravate lung diseases such as asthma, emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
- Increase the frequency of asthma attacks.
- Continue to damage the lungs even when the symptoms have disappeared.
It defines ground level ozone as being "formed when two types of pollutants react in the presence of sunlight. These pollutants are known as volatile organic compounds and oxides of nitrogen" found in emissions from cars or construction equipment.