by Kelsey Penrose
Well, Carson City, it’s been a while since we’ve had one of these announcements so at least we can be grateful for that. Unfortunately due to the current wildfires in and surrounding the Sierra, the air quality throughout our region will be affected beginning today, Wednesday, July 31.
The National Weather Service has issued a Dense Smoke Advisory for Reno, Carson City, Carson Valley and Dayton, Silver Springs areas until 5 p.m. Thursday.
According to AirNow, the forecast for Carson City for Wednesday afternoon will be Unhealthy.
However, this should be downgraded to Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups by tomorrow, and continuing into Friday.
So what exactly do these designations mean?
AirNow uses an Air Quality Index of six categories. Good, Moderate, Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups, Unhealthy, Very Unhealthy, and Hazardous. These categories are determined by the amount of pollutants in the ozone.
In this case, the pollutant is wildfire smoke.
An Unhealthy designation indicates that everyone, including sensitive groups such as older adults, children and teens, should remain indoors if possible and if not possible, avoid strenuous outdoor activities.
As of 10 a.m., the air quality in Carson City is still good to moderate. However, as the smoke plume continues to move in, this will worsen throughout the day.
Keep up to date with the current air quality by visiting https://www.airnow.gov.
