With wildfire smoke still filling the Bay Area skies, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) has extended its Spare the Air Alert through today, which was originally set to expire Saturday.
It's by no means as hot as it was yesterday in San Francisco and elsewhere in the Bay Area. That said: the first major heatwave of this year is, nevertheless, making the mercury sit uncomfortably high in parts of the Bay Area. (More inland parts of the region, like Livermore and Dublin, are still seeing temperatures in the 90s today; these temperatures aren't expected to ease until early next week.)
With ongoing heat wave, which helps create an atmospheric environment that can suspend airborne pollution — like those produced from wildfire smoke — the BAAQMD has initiated a Spare the Air Alert today.
The air quality advisory has been upgraded to a Spare the Air Alert. When wildfires are active, it’s important to stay alert and check air quality conditions to protect your health from smoke. Visit https://t.co/U3NGKXFXYV for air quality readings. https://t.co/7XtRDuEvcz
— Bay Area Air Quality (@AirDistrict) August 27, 2021
"A #SparetheAir Alert is in effect today, 8/27 & tomorrow, 8/28 due to smoke impacts from California wildfires," read a tweet from BAAQMD's Spare the Air program. "Air quality is forecast to be Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups on the #AirQualityIndex in most of the Bay Area."
PupleAir's early Sunday afternoon readings, however, do show sizable improvements in air quality from Friday and Saturday's "unhealthy" air quality levels. But inland parts of the East Bay continue showing dangerous levels of smoke-born pollutants.
BAAQMD officials strongly suggest staying indoors in areas where the air quality is particularly bad and that people do their part to reduce air pollution (i.e. opting to ride public transport, cut down on air conditioning, and watch their utility consumption). The alert, too, prohibits wood burning, including in fireplaces, wood stoves, and outdoor fire pits.
As for tomorrow, a regional Air Quality Advisory will be in effect for the region as conditions are expected to slowly improve, per BAAQMD. Though air quality is expected to be in the good to moderate range Monday, there's a chance that smoke could make the air unhealthy to breath for some pockets of the Bay Area.
To keep up to date on the air quality in your neck of the Bay Area, check baaqmd.gov/about-air-quality/current-air-quality and purpleair.com.
Related: It's Officially the Hottest Day in San Francisco So Far This Year
First Major Heatwave of the Summer Arrives Today
Image: Getty Images/yhelfman
