NHDES Declares Air Quality Action Day

Concord, NH – The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) is expecting air pollution concentrations to reach unhealthy levels for sensitive individuals in Coastal Rockingham County on Thursday, July 6. NHDES officials are calling for an Air Quality Action Day and advise sensitive individuals in this area to take precautions to protect their health by limiting prolonged outdoor exertion. Sensitive individuals include children and older adults; anyone with lung disease such as asthma, emphysema, or bronchitis; and people who are active outdoors. Even non-sensitive individuals could experience mild health effects and may want to consider limiting strenuous or prolonged outdoor activities.

NHDES forecasts that concentrations of ground-level ozone (the main component of smog) will rise to levels that are unhealthy for sensitive individuals in the above-mentioned region. Winds are predicted to transport regional air pollution from upwind areas to the New Hampshire seacoast. High temperatures and sunny skies, in addition to residual smoke from Canadian wildfires, enhance the creation of ozone from these precursor pollutants. The predicted air pollution will be transported with the winds along a band stretching from the Boston metropolitan area to the New Hampshire coastline. Air quality is expected to improve by Friday with added cloud coverage and cooler temperatures expected along the coast.

Ozone levels in Cheshire, Hillsborough and Rockingham County are expected to be moderate on Thursday. In addition to ozone, levels of fine particle air pollution are expected to be moderate statewide on Thursday. Moderate means that individuals who are unusually sensitive to air pollution should consider limiting prolonged exertion.

Symptoms of ozone exposure may include coughing, wheezing, chest tightness, shortness of breath or pain when inhaling deeply. People with asthma and other existing lung diseases may not be able to breathe as deeply or vigorously as normal and may experience symptoms such as coughing and shortness of breath. The symptoms can increase as air pollutant concentrations increase.

For further information, call NHDES at (603) 271-1370. For air quality forecasts and current air pollution levels in New Hampshire, call 1-800-935-SMOG or visit the NHDES website at https://www4.des.state.nh.us/airdata/.

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