Monday, July 2, 2012

Again, The WI DNR Tells Us The Air Is Unhealthy After The Level Is Attained

Unhealthy levels of ozone feels like a permanent feature of life in SE Wisconsin near Lake Michigan so far in 2012.

More such after-the-fact alerts issued this year - - example from last week - - than during all of last year, and it's only July 2nd.

With a sobering heat advisory through Friday.

And remember that the DNR in 2011 ended the "watches," so when you get this important "advisory" - - a better word would be "warning" - - the unhealthy situation is already here.

This advisory went into effect at 4 p.m. I got the email about it at 4:32 p.m.

The DNR could have issued an early warning much earlier in the day.

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Advisory for Ozone (Orange)

Start Time:	4:00PM CT Monday, July 2, 2012
End Time:	1:00AM CT Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Counties:	Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine

AIR QUALITY INDEX CHART

Air Quality Index (AQI) Values	Levels of Health Concern	Colors
When the AQI is in this range:	...air quality conditions are:	...as symbolized by this color:
0 to 50	Good	Green
51 to 100	Moderate	Yellow
101 to 150	Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups	Orange
151 to 200	Unhealthy	Red
201 to 300	Very Unhealthy	Purple
301 to 500	Hazardous	Maroon