Sunday, March 27, 2016

Air Quality Index


According to dictionary.com air quality index is a measure of the quantity of harmful particles and chemicals in the air. The index is used by weather forecasters to indicate the purity of the air on a given day. The higher the index, the smoggier and more polluted the air. Air quality in Cleveland is 50 right now at 7pm the Ozone AQI is 44. In Cincinnati currently the air quality index is 40 at 7pm and the ozone AQI is 36. Both Cleveland and Cincinnati have good air quality. According to the Ohio EPA website, good air quality is within the range of 0 to 50, air pollution poses little to no risk for public. The higher the value, the greater the level of air pollution and the greater the health concern. Moderate air quality is 51 to 100, the air quality is acceptable but there may be a moderate health concern for a small number of people who are sensitive to air pollution. Air quality at 101 to 150 people who are sensitive may experience health effects, but the general public is not likely to be affected. Unhealthy air quality is 151 to 200 because everyone may begin to experience health effects. Very Unhealthy air quality is 201 to 300 this is warnings of emergency health conditions, the entire population is likely to be affected. Beyond 301 is considered hazardous and everyone may experience serious health effects. Air quality index is a number used to communicate to the public the current quality of the air or how polluted it is forecasted to be. The Ohio EPA website offers several solutions to decrease the pollution. Some of these solutions include; car pool, walking, riding a bike or taking public transportation, limit driving in general, avoid burning leaves, trash and other materials, limit air conditioner and electricity use, refuel after dark, mow lawn in the evening and don’t top off tank when refueling vehicle.
The two pictures I added are Ohio air quality index and a map of the world AQI from google