FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) \u2014\u00a0Air quality officials are urging Central Valley residents to take precautions as a stretch of triple-digit temperatures is expected to bring increased levels of air pollution and other health risks.<\/p>\n
Hazy skies have already settled over the region, and the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District says the hottest part of the day can often be the most dangerous when it comes to air quality.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is summertime in the San Joaquin Valley, which means we can expect heat. What do you think about when you\u2019re thinking about heat? Well, definitely air quality,\u201d said Heather Heinks of the air district.<\/p>\n
Officials say air quality conditions have generally been favorable so far this year, but the current heat wave could present a significant challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re concerned about ozone pollution. It\u2019s basically mixing the things that get produced at ground level; they turn into ozone when the sun is hot. So you can imagine 2, 3, 4 o\u2019clock in the afternoon, it\u2019s going to be at its highest,\u201d Heinks said.<\/p>\n
In addition to rising ozone levels, experts say agricultural activity could contribute to poorer air quality. Farmers may take advantage of dry conditions to disc fields and remove crop residue, a process that can stir up dust and other airborne particles.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot only the air pollution is high, the smog level is high, but when you disturb the dirt, that could give you additional pollutants in your lungs,\u201d said Dr. A.M. Aminian.<\/p>\n
Forecasters are also monitoring the possibility of monsoonal moisture moving into the region later in the weekend, bringing increased humidity and the potential for thunderstorms.<\/p>\n
The air district said cloud cover associated with those conditions could help limit ozone formation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt might bring lightning strikes, but it also might bring cloud cover. That cloud cover could prevent ozone from really getting too bad,\u201d Heinks said.<\/p>\n
However, Aminian warned that higher humidity can create additional health concerns during periods of extreme heat.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen it goes down, again deprives you from getting enough oxygen that your body needs, and that can make it easier to go to the advanced stage of the heat stroke,\u201d Aminian said.<\/p>\n
Officials are encouraging residents, particularly those with pre-existing health conditions, to stay hydrated, limit time outdoors during the hottest portions of the day and monitor local air quality conditions as the heat wave continues.<\/p>\n
By ABC 30\u2019s Vincent Camarillo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) \u2014\u00a0Air quality officials are urging Central Valley residents to take precautions as a stretch of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":394764,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":["post-394763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=394763"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394763\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/394764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=394763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=394763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=394763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}