PA Air Quality At ‘Unhealthy’ Levels Thursday: See Forecast

PENNSYLVANIA - Hazy conditions and unhealthy air for sensitive groups are in the forecast, with dozens of Pennsylvania counties under an air quality alert as air quality levels across the state hit triple digits Thursday morning, forecasters said.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection issued a code red air quality alert beginning midnight Wednesday night and lasting through midnight Thursday. Air quality within the region could be "unhealthy for some members of the general public," officials said.

The Code Red air quality alert will be in place for the following counties:

• Adams
• Bedford
• Berks
• Blair
• Cambria
• Cameron
• Centre
• Clearfield
• Clinton
• Columbia
• Crawford
• Cumberland
• Dauphin
• Elk
• Erie
• Franklin
• Fulton
• Huntingdon
• Juniata
• Lancaster
• Lebanon
• Lehigh
• Lycoming
• McKean
• Mifflin
• Montour
• Northampton
• Northumberland
• Perry
• Potter
• Schuylkill
• Snyder
• Somerset
• Sullivan
• Tioga
• Union
• Warren
• York

The agency also issued an Air Quality Action Day for Fine Particulates for the following counties:

• Allegheny
• Armstrong
• Beaver
• Berks
• Bradford
• Bucks
• Butler
• Carbon
• Chester
• Clarion
• Delaware
• Fayette
• Forest
• Greene
• Jefferson
• Lackawanna
• Lawrence
• Lehigh
• Luzerne
• Mercer
• Monroe
• Montgomery
• Northampton
• Philadelphia
• Pike
• Susquehanna
• Venango
• Washington
• Wayne
• Westmoreland
• Wyoming

“Air pollution concentrations within the local region are unhealthful for the general population,” the National Weather Service said. “The effects of air pollution can be minimized by avoiding outdoor exercise or strenuous activity.”

Pennsylvania residents - especially older people, children, those who are active outdoors and those with lung or respiratory conditions - should limit outdoor activities during the alerts, DEP officials said.

As of Thursday morning, the air quality across the Keystone State was largely “unhealthy” at around 138 in Scranton to 247 AQI in Pittsburgh, according to AirNow.gov. Thursday is forecast to see AQIs between 155 and 196 AQI later in the day, the federal website said. Friday is expected to see AQIs improve by dropping into the 100, or “moderate, range.

Risky AQI, which may pose a hazard for people who are sensitive to air pollution, begins at values above 50, according to the federal website.

NWS experts say they do not expect conditions in Pennsylvania to be as severe as earlier this month, when the air quality in parts of Pennsylvania rose to dangerously unhealthy levels as the skies turned yellow due to the wildfire haze. The unhealthy air quality closed schools and government offices for at least a day on June 7.

AccuWeather-owned Plume Labs also predicts that the air quality won’t be nearly as bad in the region as earlier this month, but the air quality will still be poor.

Wildfires have burned over 7.9 million hectares since the start of the year, roughly 289,314 of which were in Ontario.

Air quality conditions are expected to begin improving late Friday into Saturday as more unsettled weather looks to return for the weekend, officials said.