Orange Air Quality Alert Issued For Baltimore Area

BALTIMORE, MD -- Meteorologists with the Maryland Department of the Environment issued an air quality alert, level orange, for the Baltimore area. The low quality air is expected to hit Baltimore on Wednesday.

Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups, or USG, conditions are expected because of warm, humid conditions along with abundant sunshine, which allow ozone concentrations to arise. This, alongside "a fairly dirty air mass to our south and west," which will move to the Baltimore area, according to the Department of the Environment, will decrease the air quality.

Ozone is best known for creating a protective layer in the Earth's atmosphere, blocking ultraviolet rays and other harmful rays. However, when it accumulates on the ground level, it is considered a health hazard.

Patch reported on a similar alert last year when the air quality was slightly worse. The Air Quality Index, or AQI, runs on a scale from zero to 500. An AQI of zero means perfectly clean air. When the AQI reaches 300, it is considered hazardous to the public. Wednesday's AQI is expected to be 115, a number breaching the threshold of 100, the point at which air quality is considered unhealthy for sensitive groups. It is at this level that the alert moves to orange.

AccuWeather warns that "a Code Orange Air Quality Alert means that air pollution concentrations within the region may become unhealthy for sensitive groups. Sensitive groups include children, people suffering from asthma, heart disease or other lung diseases, and the elderly. The effects of air pollution can be minimized by avoiding strenuous activity or exercise outdoors."

You can find more information at the Department of the Environment website or the Air Quality Hotline at 410-537-3247.

Article image via Patch