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By Anna Skinner
Associate News Editor
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Children and other sensitive groups are being urged to remain indoors today across parts of southern California, Oregon and Arizona, where air quality was reported as "unhealthy for sensitive groups" or worse on Friday morning, according to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) AirNow website.
Areas such as the Coachella Valley in California, Phoenix in Arizona, and parts of Oregon are experiencing elevated levels of ozone and particulate pollution, posing heightened health risks.
Why It Matters
Children are among the populations most vulnerable to poor air quality.
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A spokesperson for the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) in California told Newsweek that exposure to particle pollution "can cause premature death in people with heart or lung disease, cause heart attacks, aggravate asthma, decrease lung function, and cause respiratory symptoms like coughing and difficulty breathing."
Sensitive groups including children, older adults, minority populations, and low socioeconomic status populations are particularly at risk.
The American Lung Association recently gave Portland, Oregon, a "C" grade for ozone pollution, according to a Wednesday press release. The association said that the area where the city's metro area "ranked 104th worst in the nation for short-term particle pollution."
What to Know
Today's poor air quality is primarily attributed to high winds stirring up dust and trapping pollutants near the surface in Southern California's deserts. National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist Sam Zuber warned that conditions could worsen.
"Winds are going to start to pick up with gusts 20 to 25 miles per hour in the deserts, including in the Coachella Valley, as early as noon on Friday. We will probably see winds peak in the evening...and it's a very similar story for Saturday," Zuber told Newsweek.
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"With these windspeeds, we can definitely see some blowing dust out there. When you're out in the desert, it is very common with these windspeeds, so it's very possible the air quality district may extend the [air quality alert]," she said.
In Arizona, while Maricopa County narrowly avoided stricter EPA regulations this week, concerns about persistent ozone pollution remain acute.
Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) air-quality meteorologist Matt Pace previously told Newsweek that Phoenix receives 95 percent or more sunshine throughout the year, which contributes to ozone formation. High pressure is often present over the city, creating hot temperatures, which leads to high concentrations of ozone as well.
Earlier on Friday morning, the South Coast AQMD recorded improving air conditions across Coachella Valley, but the AQMD air quality dashboard noted that some air quality measurements degraded to "unhealthy" northwest of Indio a few hours later.
What People Are Saying
A South Coast AQMD spokesperson told Newsweek regarding an air quality alert that expired Friday morning: "We let the advisory expire since air quality will continue to improve throughout the day today. Latest weather models however show strong winds capable of generating more dust tonight and again sporadically throughout the weekend. Within the next few hours we will decide whether this warrants a re-issuance of a new dust advisory in the Coachella Valley."
A South Coast AQMD spokesperson previously told Newsweek: "Windblown dust events can occur year-round but high winds and dust most frequently occur from April to October in the Coachella Valley."
AirNow in a description for air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups: "Members of sensitive groups may experience health effects. The general public is less likely to be affected."
What Happens Next
Air quality may worsen across the weekend as gusty winds persist in desert regions. Sensitive groups, especially children, are encouraged to stay indoors, avoid strenuous outdoor activities and use air filtration when possible until conditions improve.
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