Posted by QuickReadAbout.com Staff in The Air Quality Index (AQI) is a measurement that’s used to classify and measure air pollution. The AQI Index is used by meteorologists and health agencies to report air pollution levels to the public. The reason that the public needs to know about air quality and air pollution levels is so people who may be susceptible to air pollution issues such as young children, senior citizens, and those with breathing problems like asthma can take precautions or modify behavior.
Our weather conditions every day have a direct effect on the quality of the air we breathe. Moving air masses and wind can move air pollutants from one location to another, and stagnant air can result in increased concentrations of harmful pollutants in one area. Rain, snow, freezing rain, and sleet wash pollutants from the air and improve air quality.
When the AQI is high, that means that a lot of pollutants are in the air. And high concentrations of air pollution can adversely affect the health of all of us.
The effects of air pollution are both short term and long term. The effects are more profound for individuals who are at higher risk (the elderly, small children and those with breathing-related health issues), but that doesn’t mean that air pollution is no problem at all for young healthy people with no breathing-related health issues. We all need to be concerned about air quality.
When a stagnant air mass is accompanied by moisture in the air (fog) we get smog, and smog is no small health issue. In the “Smog Disaster” in London in 1952, 4,000 people died in just a few days because of the high concentrations of pollution.
We can’t do anything about the weather. The weather does as it pleases, but we can all do something about the air pollutants that combine with stagnant air masses, cause smog, and have a profound effect on our health.