The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has issued an alert for poor air quality due to ozone pollution. The alert will is in effect until 11 p.m. Tuesday and includes the Lehigh Valley as well as Berks County.
Officials said the Code Orange Air Quality alert was issued Tuesday morning because ozone concentrations in the area may approach or exceed unhealthy standards. Similar alerts were issued last summer, when air quality across the region plummeted due to smoke from Canadian wildfires in the atmosphere.
For more information on air quality and ozone pollution, visit AirNow.Gov. As of around noon, the site reported that air pollution in the Bethlehem area was at a moderate level, but forecast to increase to an unhealthy level for sensitive individuals later in the day. Those most affected by the poor air quality are likely to be people with lung disease, children, older adults and those who are active outdoors for six or more hours a day. Individuals in those groups should consider shortening the amount of time they spend outside and engage in less strenuous outdoor activities.
This local news story was reported with generative AI assistance.
