Forget about that lingering cough getting better today or tomorrow. The National Weather Service issued an air stagnation advisory today that will be in effect until Wednesday for the NYC, Rockland, Westchester, and Suffolk areas. Via AccuWeather:
THE NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION HAS ISSUED AN AIR STAGNATION ADVISORY FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES.
SUFFOLK...NASSAU...RICHMOND...KINGS...QUEENS...NEW YORK...BRONX... WESTCHESTER...ROCKLAND.
AIR QUALITY LEVELS IN OUTDOOR AIR ARE PREDICTED TO BE GREATER THAN AN AIR QUALITY INDEX VALUE OF 100 FOR FINE PARTICLES. THE AIR QUALITY INDEX...OR AQI...WAS CREATED AS AN EASY WAY TO CORRELATE LEVELS OF DIFFERENT POLLUTANTS TO ONE SCALE. THE HIGHER THE AQI VALUE...THE GREATER THE HEALTH CONCERN.
WHEN POLLUTION LEVELS ARE ELEVATED...THE NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH RECOMMENDS THAT INDIVIDUALS CONSIDER LIMITING STRENUOUS OUTDOOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ADVERSE HEALTH EFFECTS. PEOPLE WHO MAY BE ESPECIALLY SENSITIVE TO THE EFFECTS OF ELEVATED LEVELS OF POLLUTANTS INCLUDE THE VERY YOUNG, AND THOSE WITH PRE-EXISTING RESPIRATORY PROBLEMS SUCH AS ASTHMA OR HEART DISEASE. THOSE WITH SYMPTOMS SHOULD CONSIDER CONSULTING THEIR PERSONAL PHYSICIAN.
A TOLL FREE AIR QUALITY HOTLINE HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED SO NEW YORK RESIDENTS CAN STAY INFORMED ON THE AIR QUALITY SITUATION. THE TOLL FREE NUMBER IS: 1 800 5 3 5 1 3 4 5.
Air stagnation is caused by pollutants being trapped in the same area. Last year, Washington State was under an air stagnation advisory during Thanksgiving, and the press release had this nugget: "Air pollution levels may increase due to holiday activities such as driving to friends or relatives and lighting fires in fireplaces or wood stoves." Interesting! Was Thanksgiving and Black Friday the cause? We thought the drenching rain on Thursday would have moved out some air particles, but we guess this warm spell needed an ugly side.
Photograph of an April green sky taken by PR002i; green skies (explained here) have nothing to do with air stagnation - we just like this picture
