Monday declared Air Quality Action Day across Indiana with changing weather pattern on horizon

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) has forecast an Air Quality Action Day (AQAD) for Monday, July 20.

Fine particulate matter levels are expected to be in the Unhealthy range (Red) in the following areas:

• Northwest Indiana, including the cities of: Crown Point, Gary, Hammond, Kentland, LaPorte, Michigan City, Portage, Rensselaer, Valparaiso and all other cities within the area.
• North Central Indiana, including the cities of: Elkhart, Goshen, Knox, Logansport, Plymouth, Peru, South Bend, Warsaw, Winamac and all other cities within the area.
• Northeast Indiana, including the cities of: Angola, Auburn, Decatur, Fort Wayne, Hartford, Huntington City, LaGrange, Marion, Portland, Wabash and all other cities within the area.

Fine particulate matter levels are expected to be in the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups range (Orange) in the following areas: 

• Western/West Central Indiana, including the cities of: Crawfordsville, Covington, Delphi, Fowler, Greencastle, Lafayette, Newport, Monticello, Spencer, Sullivan, Terre Haute and all other cities within the area.
• Central/East Central Indiana, including the cities of: Bloomington, Brookville, Columbus, Frankfort, Indianapolis, Greensburg, Kokomo, Lebanon, Martinsville, Muncie, Richmond and all other cities within the area.
• Southwest Indiana, including the cities of: Bedford, Bloomfield, Evansville, Huntingburg, Mount Vernon, Paoli, Princeton, Rockport, Tell City, Vincennes and all other cities within the area.
• Southeast Indiana, including the cities of: Brownstown, Corydon, Jeffersonville, Madison, New Albany, Salem, Versailles and all other cities within the area.

High pressure Monday will recirculate the smoke over most of the state with the primary concern remaining the northern half of Indiana. This smoke, in addition to the other meteorological factors such as light winds and predicted flow, will produce high PM2.5 readings.

This will produce high PM2.5 readings into the Unhealthy range for Northwest, North Central and Northeast Indiana.

This will produce high PM2.5 readings into the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (USG)  for West Central, Central/East Central, Southwest and Southeast Indiana.

Hoosiers can visit SmogWatch.IN.gov to:

• View air quality information for all Indiana counties, including a state map of affected counties;
• Learn more about Air Quality Action Days and recommended actions;
• Learn more about ozone and fine particulate matter; and
• Sign up for air quality alerts.

Air Quality Action Days are in effect from midnight to 11:59 p.m. (24-hours) on the specified date.