Air Quality Alert

The officials at the Indiana Department of Environmental Management have declared an Air Quality Action Day, in effect from Friday through Monday.

Heavy smoke is lingering for the northern half of Indiana currently divided by a stationary front. The front will lift north later Friday providing a brief break in levels before a system late Saturday will bring another round of smoke. High pressure in place Sunday and 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 from the north, will produce high PM2.5 readings. This will produce high PM2.5 readings into the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (USG) for West Central Indiana, which includes White County.

Here are some recommended actions that the public can take:

* Walk, bike, carpool or use public transportation.

* Avoid using the drive-through and combine errands into one trip.

* Avoid refueling your vehicle or using gasoline-powered lawn equipment until after 7pm.

* Turn off your engine when idling for more than 30 seconds.

* Conserve energy by turning off lights or setting the air conditioner to 75 degrees or above.

For additional information, please visit the IDEM Smog page at:

http://www.in.gov/idem/airmonitoring/smogwatch/