CHARLESTON, W.Va. (April 19, 2019) – The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s (WVDEP)
Division of Air Quality (DAQ) announces that National Air Quality Awareness
Week will be held April 29 through May 3 and encourages all West Virginians to
check the Air Quality Index (AQI) to find the best time of day to be active
outdoors.
The AQI calculates health effects for five major air pollutants regulated by
the Clean Air Act – ground-level ozone, particle pollution (also known as
particulate matter), carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen
dioxide. For each of these pollutants, the United States Environmental
Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) has established national air quality standards to
protect public health.
iPhone users can enable the AQI in their Apple Maps app. To turn on the
feature, open the Settings app for your iPhone, tap “Maps” from the list.
Scroll to the “Climate” section, then toggle on “Air Quality Index.” The
data comes from Apple’s partner, The Weather Channel, who primarily collects
the data from EPA’s AirNow system, as well as state and local agencies.
The DAQ maintains a statewide network for long-term ambient air quality
monitoring data to determine attainment with EPA’s federal National Ambient Air
Quality Standards. Air monitors located around the State record the
concentrations of major pollutants. These raw measurements are then
converted into a short-term, nonregulatory AQI value, using standard formulas
developed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The
reported index is updated on DAQ’s website,
Monday through Friday, and is also available at https://www.airnow.gov/.
Additional information on West Virginia's air quality is available here.
For background information on air quality issues, click here.
For more WVDEP news and
information, go to www.dep.wv.gov. Also, connect with the agencyon
all social media platforms. Follow @DEPWV on Twitter, Like us on Facebook
at https://www.facebook.com/depwv/, and find us on YouTube by
searching “Environment
Matters.”
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