INDIANA – The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) has forecast Air Quality Action Days (AQADs) for Thursday, Sept. 19, and Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in multiple regions.
On Thursday, ozone levels are expected to be in the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups range (Orange) in the following areas:
- Northwest Indiana, including Crown Point, Gary, Hammond, Kentland, LaPorte, Michigan City, Portage, Rensselaer, Valparaiso, and all other cities within the area.
- North Central Indiana, including Elkhart, Goshen, Knox, Logansport, Plymouth, Peru, South Bend, Warsaw, Winamac, and all other cities within the area.
On Friday, ozone levels are expected to be in the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups range (Orange) in the following areas:
- North Central Indiana, including Elkhart, Goshen, Knox, Logansport, Plymouth, Peru, South Bend, Warsaw, Winamac, and all other cities within the area.
- Southeast Indiana, including Brownstown, Corydon, Jeffersonville, Madison, New Albany, Salem, Versailles, and all other cities within the area.
Warm temperatures, low humidity, and light winds will create conditions favorable for ozone development that reach the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (USG) range in these areas. On Friday, a low-pressure system will begin to move east across the lower Great Lakes, directing the warm front southward and increasing humidity.
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 dates. Some municipalities have additional open burning restrictions on AQADs. For more information, see idem.IN.gov/openburning/laws-and-rules.
