CLEVELAND — As an Air Quality Alert was activated for several days this week as smoke from wildfires in Canada impacted several states, you may have been wondering how to check the air quality in your area.
It’s simple.
AirNow.gov is a tool that provides the latest air quality levels, which you can track locally by entering your zip code, city or state.
Cleveland and Akron were listed at the “unhealthy” level as of 8 a.m. Thursday, which is an improvement as both were listed at “very unhealthy” on Wednesday.
During periods when the air is listed as "very unhealthy," the Cleveland Department of Public Health has the following recommendations...
Children, teens, older adults and those with heart or lung disease
- Avoid outdoor activities as much as possible.
- Stay inside with the windows closed.
Everyone else
- Limit outdoor activities, especially strenuous outdoor activities.
- Keep outdoor activities as short as possible.
- Reassign outdoor work to indoor activities except in emergent situations.
"Those with heart disease or COPD should pay close attention to symptoms -- such as chest pain or tightness, a fast heartbeat, feeling more out of breath than usual or extreme fatigue," according to the Cleveland Department of Public Health.
