We all have to breathe to live, and the good news is that here in Western North Carolina, the quality of the air we all share is much better than it was just a few years ago. Across North Carolina, government employees are monitoring air quality and the associated health risks to make sure they stay within specified legal parameters. Meanwhile, citizen volunteers are also collecting data and working to make more information available to the public.
As spring weather returns to Asheville, so does the risk of dangerous levels of ozone pollution. To raise awareness and help notify the public when ozone levels become hazardous, environmental agencies will start issuing daily air quality forecasts Tuesday, April 1, for Asheville and other metropolitan areas across the state.
With today’s sunshine and warmer weather, ozone season — and local forecasts — begin in Western North Carolina.
Since coming out on the losing end last year of a multistate lawsuit that took seven years to resolve, the Tennessee Valley Authority has pushed a green agenda that promises to “keep the initiatives coming, and keep the clean air coming.”
The anticipated air quality for the Asheville ridge-tops has been changed to Code Orange today — unhealthy for sensitive groups.
The ozone season — the period from May through October when ground-level ozone levels rise — is upon us. In years past, ozone levels in WNC have occasionally risen to levels that threatened public health, but the Land-of-Sky Regional Council reports that air quality has improved.
