Code Orange: Asheville, Buncombe air quality alert predicted for July 18
ASHEVILLE – Asheville and Buncombe County are under a Code Orange air quality alert for July 18 due to particulates continuing to drift south from Canadian wildfires, making the air hazardous to some humans and animals.
The Quality Air Index is projected to be 101 for the Asheville area on July 18, which means the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups. The Code Orange alert will be in effect from midnight July 17 through midnight July 18, according to Jeffery Taylor, meteorologist at the National Weather Service. The division is “tentatively” forecasting a Code Yellow for the entire state during the day on July 19, according to DEQ’s news release.
“North Carolinians sensitive to air pollution should exercise caution this week as a plume of smoke from wildfires in Canada enters the state,” Shawn Taylor of the Division of Environmental Quality stated in a news release July 17. “Code Orange on the Air Quality Index represents unhealthy air quality for sensitive groups. Older adults, children of any age, and people with respiratory conditions such as asthma should limit prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors.”
Air safety ranges are determined by the Air Quality Index, with each county having its own air monitoring network used to determine air quality based on local variables, according to Clay Channey, meteorologist at the National Weather Service. The optimum range that is safest for everyone is Code Green, which ranges from 0-51 on the index.
“Smoke can carry elevated levels of fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, which consists of particles smaller than the width of a human hair,” Taylor of DEQ said. “These particles can reach deep in the lungs and aggravate asthma and other lung conditions and have been linked to heart conditions.”
According to the National Weather Service, the forecast is a high of about 85 degrees Fahrenheit in Asheville on July 18, with highs picking up to 86 degrees on July 19 and 88 degrees on July 20.
“The issue is going to be from particulate matter, especially from smoke and haze coming from the wildfires up in Canada,” Taylor of the NWS told the Citizen Times July 17. “The particulate matter is the issue creating a Code Orange, and ozone levels should be well below 100, which there’s no concern with that.”
Recommendations for how to care for the air are:
Drive less: carpool, vanpool, take the bus, telecommute.
Conserve electricity.
Pack a lunch or walk to lunch.
Avoid idling your vehicle.
Refuel and mow after 6 p.m.
Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry is kicking off an event called “Relief from the Heat” on July 20, to help people with medical conditions, lower income families with children and the elderly stay cool during extreme temperatures.
“With record-breaking temps around the globe, we anticipate a warming trend that will increase the need for cooling assistance and exceed last year's requests,” Mary Messarra, Director of ABCCM’s Crisis Ministry, said in a news release July 17. “Please help prevent heat related deaths and help families in crisis with an air conditioner or fan! Just $15 helps provide a fan and $100 provides an A/C window unit with 5000 BTUs."
Donations can be made at abccm.org.
Ryley Ober is the Public Safety Reporter for Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. News tips? Email Ryley at rober@gannett.com. Please support local, daily journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville, Buncombe under air quality alert for July 18
