An air quality health advisory for ground-level ozone is in effect for Long Island today until 11 p.m.
The State Department of Environmental Conservation and the State Department of Health issued the advisory this morning for predicted levels of ground-level ozone in excess of an air quality index of 100.
The AQI was created as an easy way to correlate levels of different pollutants to one scale, with a higher AQI value indicating a greater health concern.
The AQI today on Long Island is forecast to reach 105, which is considered unhealthy for sensitive groups.
People – especially young children, those who exercise outdoors, those involved in vigorous outdoor work and those who have respiratory disease, such as asthma — should consider limiting strenuous outdoor physical activity when ozone levels are the highest (generally afternoon to early evening).
Summer heat can lead to the formation of ground-level ozone, a major component of photochemical smog, the DEC said in a press release. Automobile exhaust and out-of-state emission sources are the primary sources of ground-level ozone and are the most serious air pollution problems in the northeast, the agency said.
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