Air Quality Warning Returns For Boulder; No Burn, Reduce Driving

BOULDER, CO -- The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has issued its third air quality warning since last Tuesday for the seven-county Boulder-Denver area. Fine particulate concentrations are in the "unhealthy for sensitive groups" category throughout large parts of the northern Front Range region, with some areas reaching the higher "unhealthy" category.

As of 6 a.m. this morning, the highest AQI value was 156 for particulates less than 2.5 micrometers, indicates "unhealthy" air quality for the area. This can lead to increased aggravation of heart or lung disease and premature mortality in people with cardiopulmonary disease and older adults and increased respiratory effects in general population. The CDPHE recommends that people with heart or lung disease, older adults, and children should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion, and that everyone else should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion.

As an Action Day for Particulates and Visibility, indoor burning restrictions and requests to limit driving are now in effect until at least 4 p.m. Thursday. Poor visibility is also expected throughout the day.

Frequently, inversion weather patterns can exacerbate pollution in the Boulder Valley, when a layer of warm air traps a layer of cold air close to the ground at lower elevations. The temperature at 6 a.m. this morning in Boulder was 28, while the temperature in Nederland was 35.

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