May's Be Air Aware Message

May is a busy month for the topic of air quality. Not only is May designated to be Clean Air Month, but May 1-5 is also Air Quality Awareness Week. Clean Air Month is supported by the American Lung Association and Air Quality Awareness Week is hosted by the US Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency, and the Centers for Disease Control.

The overarching theme for May is being air aware. The observances of both events will encourage people from all over the country to take steps to help improve air quality. Why is it important to observe these air quality related events? Air quality affects everyone and the environment. Whether you’re highly sensitive to air pollution and ground-level ozone or not, air quality touches all of us. Bad air quality can even be more dangerous for people who have asthma or respiratory problems, causing more frequent asthma attacks and health care needs. Children are also at risk for developing serious health problems if exposed to ground-level ozone.

You may also be wondering how you can observe and participate in these air quality events. We have compiled a list of actions that would be helpful for reducing ozone emissions and help the air quality, which can be found here. Consider taking part in a few of these actions to help the cause! Observing Clean Air Month as well as Air Quality Awareness Week is a way to test what works for you and your family and how you can possibly implement these actions more often year round.

Next month, we will host Clean Air Action Day on June 23.

We invite you to take part in our air quality event and do at least one thing to help improve air quality. Share your action with us on social media by using #CAAD2017 and tagging us, @NCTCOGtrans for a chance to win a prize!