Hatboro-Horsham officials have scheduled an online day Thursday due to “hazardous” air quality and dust from new school construction.
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HATBORO / HORSHAM TOWNSHIP, PA —With the township’s air quality considered “hazardous” Thursday, Keith Valley Middle School will operate on a remote learning schedule, school officials said.
Hatboro-Horsham School District officials said that the rest of the district’s schools will operate on a normal schedule with standard transportation and food service.
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All school activities will be indoors, including recess and physical education classes, due to the smoke from the Canadian wildfires.
“We continue to monitor the air quality situation,” school officials said on its website. “Since the communication from the district (Wednesday), the air quality forecast has deteriorated and the recommendation to remain indoors with windows closed remains in effect.”
Horsham ChATs reported a “hazardous” air quality index of 376, according to AirNow.gov.
“You will awake to another hazy and smoky morning here in Horsham. The air quality this morning is significantly worse than it was yesterday at this time,” Horsham Community Police Services in its Facebook post at 7 a.m. Thursday.
On Wednesday, Keith Valley had an early dismissal due to the poor air quality and the dust caused by the construction of the new middle school nearby. The reason for the remote learning day is the same.
In an email to parents, the school district said that assignments will be posted early Thursday morning and teachers will block off an hour to be available to any students needing help.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection said Thursday will be a Code Orange Air Quality Action Day after Wednesday was elevated to a Code Red Action Day due to increased particulate matter in the air.
Thursday is expected to see persistent smoky conditions through much of the day.
Air quality is expected to be highest in the morning, however, quality is expected to worsen throughout the day due to Thursday’s weather pattern.
The main low-pressure system over Nova Scotia, Canada will move from east to west, across eastern Canada. Officials said that movement will change the orientation of the winds over Pennsylvania, which models indicating the plume will actually shift further to the west, thus relaxing the onslaught of smoke over eastern Pennsylvania.
Even with the declining levels of particulate matter expected, overall averages should at least remain well within the Code Orange range, according to the DEP.
Over the coming days, officials said to expect the air quality to continue to improve.