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The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) has extended the agency’s Air Quality Action Day forecast for today through Friday in five regions, which includes Bartholomew County and Columbus.
Ozone levels are expected to be in the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups range (Orange) in the following areas:
- Central/East Central Indiana, including the cities of: Bloomington, Brookville, Columbus, Frankfort, Indianapolis, Greensburg, Kokomo, Lebanon, Martinsville, Muncie, Richmond and all other cities within the area.
- Northwest Indiana, including the cities of: Crown Point, Gary, Hammond, Kentland, LaPorte, Michigan City, Portage, Rensselaer, Valparaiso and all other cities within the area.
- Southeast Indiana, including the cities of: Brownstown, Corydon, Jeffersonville, Madison, New Albany, Salem, Versailles and all other cities within the area.
- Southwest Indiana, including the cities of: Bedford, Bloomfield, Evansville, Huntingburg, Mount Vernon, Paoli, Princeton, Rockport, Tell City, Vincennes and all other cities within the area.
- Western/West Central Indiana, including the cities of: Crawfordsville, Covington, Delphi, Fowler, Greencastle, Lafayette, Newport, Monticello, Spencer, Sullivan, Terre Haute and all other cities within the area.
High temperatures are expected to reach the 90-degree mark again tomorrow across most, if not all of Indiana, which combined with slightly lower humidity in the afternoon along with light and variable winds may lead to ozone levels that reach the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (USG) range. A large portion of the eastern United States has been under a stubborn dome of high pressure the last several days and with no change in airmass we expect elevated ozone for another day.
Hoosiers can visit SmogWatch.IN.gov to:
- View air quality information for all Indiana counties, including a state map of affected counties;
- Learn more about Air Quality Action Days and recommended actions;
- Learn more about ozone and fine particulate matter; and
- Sign up for air quality alerts.
Air Quality Action Days are in effect from midnight to 11:59 p.m. (24-hours) on the specified date. Some municipalities have additional open burning restrictions on AQADs. For more information, see idem.IN.gov/openburning/laws-and-rules.
