Air Quality Advisory Issued For Rockland, Westchester, NYC

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — The lowest part of the Hudson Valley, Rockland and Westchester counties, is included in Friday's Air Quality Health Alert for the New York City metro area.

That means the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups, including children, people with lung disease, people with heart conditions, and senior citizens.

This has triggered an Action Day, declared by the New York State Department of Transportation.

Residents can take steps to prevent pollution whether they're in a sensitive group or not:

• Combine errands into a single trip.
• Postpone unnecessary trips.
• Take the subway, bus or train instead of driving.
• Avoid letting your vehicle idle, such as at the drive-thru.
• Forward this message to family and friends.
• Avoid operating gas-powered gardening equipment such as lawn mowers. Wait for a day when air quality is better.

"Driving may be one of the most polluting activities that people do on a daily basis, so we encourage everyone to avoid unnecessary driving," Croton-on-Hudson village officials said in an email to residents.

Air pollution can harm human health and damage all the elements of the ecosystem. For nearly four decades, state and federal governments have controlled the emission of pollutants through permits with enforceable requirements and have measured and monitored pollution levels in the air, the DEC said.