IDEM forecasts Air Quality Action Day for Wednesday in three Indiana regions

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) has forecast an Air Quality Action Day (AQAD) for Wednesday, July 15 in Northwest, Central/East Central and Western/West Central Indiana.

Ozone levels are expected to be in the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups range (Orange) 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Very high temperatures, sunny skies, relatively low humidity and calm winds should produce stagnant conditions, and USG values are expected for tomorrow. High surface pressure is also currently over the region. This will produce high Ozone readings into the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (USG) for Northwest, Central/East Central, and West Central tomorrow. 

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. Some municipalities have additional open burning restrictions on AQADs. For more information, go to idem.IN.gov/openburning/laws-and-rules.