The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has declared a Code Orange Air Quality Action Day on Sunday due to ozone levels for three regions of Pennsylvania, including the Lehigh Valley-Berks region.
Sunday’s forecast of warm weather and winds from the South and Southwest will contribute to an average concentration of ozone in the Code Orange range, according to a release from the DEP. An Air Quality Index reading in that range means the air may be harmful to young children, the elderly and those with respiratory problems.
According to airnow.gov, the Lehigh Valley’s projected AQI on Sunday is around 105. The Code Orange range is between 100 and 150.
The move back into Code Orange comes after the region spent part of the week with polluted air from the Canada wildfire-caused smoke that has made its way down the east coast. On Wednesday, the Lehigh Valley’s AQI reading of 464 was the worst in the entire country.
Both Wednesday and Thursday were initially declared Code Orange Action Days but were upgraded to Code Red. That’s not nearly as likely Sunday given how low in the Orange range the forecasted AQI is. But the air could still be harmful to those particularly vulnerable groups.
Experts say air quality could be polluted through the weekend even if smoke is no longer visibly present.
The Lehigh Valley’s AQI was in the Yellow range of 50 to 100 on Saturday, which doesn’t require an Action Day alert.
Air quality can be monitored at airnow.gov.
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Connor Lagore may be reached at [email protected].