Air Quality Awareness Week

Every year, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA), hosts a week dedicated to bringing awareness to air quality and its impact on your health. This year, Air Quality Awareness week is held from May 1-5, 2017. The topics for this year include: wildfires, asthma and air quality, air quality trends, air quality around the world, and citizen science.

Why is it important to be aware of air quality? Air quality affects every single one of us, and depending on your respiratory sensitivity level, it can affect you more or less. Protecting ourselves from dangerous air quality forecasts can greatly impact your health. Using the Air Quality Index and the daily air quality forecasts from local weather channels can help you take steps towards protecting you and your family from harmful pollutants. You can also sign up for Air North Texas’ air pollution alerts, which will notify you when North Texas air pollution levels are predicted to be in the unhealthy range.

In addition to being air aware and protecting yourself, consider being proactive by committing to clean air actions that will help reduce pollution. A list of clean air actions that can be done by individuals can be found at www.airnorthtexas.org/individuals.

Better air quality will help pose fewer health risks to residents in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Remember to follow our blog for more ways you can be air aware all year round!