DEP Issues Air Quality Alert For North Jersey For Thursday; Fireworks Blamed On Prior Day

NORTH JERSEY, NJ — After the air quality in North Jersey dropped to a level on Wednesday that was not seen since the Canadian wildfire pollution of a month ago, a new alert was issued for Thursday, starting at 11 a.m.

Experts said that when levels crept into the "unhealthy" zone Wednesday morning, the culprit was July 4 fireworks, not Canadian fires.

For Thursday, the culprit is pollution in the ozone later, combined with the other particulates.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection issued an Air Quality Action Day for Bergen, Passaic, Hudson, Essex,and Union counties from and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

"An Air Quality Action Day," said the NWS, "means that Ground Level Ozone within the region may approach or exceed unhealthy standards. Sensitive individuals, including the very young, the elderly, and persons with respiratory diseases such as asthma, should avoid strenuous activities during the afternoon and early evening hours."

The DEP sent a message Thursday morning saying, "Action day for Ozone has been declared for Thursday, July 6th. Sensitive individuals, including the very young, the elderly, and persons with

respiratory diseases such as asthma, should avoid strenuous activities during the afternoon and early evening hours. Hot temperatures, light southeast winds, and mostly sunny skies will allow ozone levels to rise into the USG category along the I-95 corridor in central and northern New Jersey, with the highest levels expected in far north/northeastern portions of the state. Additionally, fine particulate levels are forecast to remain in the moderate category statewide due to persistent light winds and high humidity."

What about Friday?

"Persistent southeast onshore winds will help to push elevated ozone concentrations further inland, allowing levels to return to the moderate category statewide. Partly cloudy skies and the chance for late afternoon/early evening showers and thunderstorms will also help to suppress elevated levels. PM2.5 concentrations are also forecast to remain in the moderate category statewide due to continued humidity and light winds, with the exception of far coastal regions which will return to the good category."

Read more about pollution in the ozone layer here. See the current level and prediction for the Northeast Urban region here.

Fireworks Contributed, Experts Say

For Wednesday, “Basically, there was a huge spike in particulate matter pollution last night ... I think the risk to healthy individuals s fairly low, since it is so short-lived," said Dr. Dan Westervelt, an adviser on air pollution for the State Department, in the New York Times.

Experts in some parts of the country predicted the fireworks would cause unhealth levels for a day or two.

How long will levels stay unhealthy? Check levels for the Northeast Urban region of New Jersey here.

Check these links for the most up to date information:

• For the air quality now and the forecast for the next day, go to AirNow.

• For maps showing the quality in different parts of the state, go here https://www.nj.gov/dep/airmon/
• To see if it's best to avoid testing your emergency generators, go here: http://www.nj.gov/dep/aqpp/aqf...

Various wildfires have burned over 19 million acres of Canada since the start of the year, around a third of them in Quebec, according to Accuweather. Canada's wildfire season had set a record, with the smoke reaching Europe.