Poor air quality expected in SoCal this week amid heat wave

LOS ANGELES (KABC) — As another brutal heat wave moves into Southern California, it’s more than just the temperatures impacting local residents.

Poor air quality will also be cause for concern.

“Ozone, or smog, is the dominant summertime pollutant in Southern California. And that tends to form more readily under high temperatures,” said Scott Epstein, planning and rules manager of air quality assessment for the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

The extreme heat increases the amount of ozone pollution in the air which in turn negatively impacts our air quality.

“When temperatures are high you get a lot more evaporation of one of the compounds that form smog in the atmosphere, and you speed up the reactions that form smog as well, so we tend to see our highest ozone levels or smog levels on the hottest days of the year,” added Epstein.

As temperatures climb during the day so do ozone levels, so expect to see the worst air quality in the mid-to-late afternoon. These high levels can trigger breathing issues including asthma.

“Breathing high levels of ozone can cause serious respiratory issues such as asthma. It can aggravate respiratory conditions such as COPD, cause trouble breathing or other lung issues. So the most important thing on these days is to be aware of high levels of ozone. It’s not a visible pollutant,” said Epstein.

When conditions are bad try to minimize bringing what’s outside – inside.

“Keep windows and doors closed, run your air conditioner and air purifier and minimize things that bring outdoor air inside, such as a swamp cooler or a whole-house fan,” added Epstein.

The South Coast AQMD has issued an Ozone Alert for most of Southern California through Friday evening.