Delaware’s air quality is returning to normal levels.
Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control says air quality remains a moderate concern but has vastly improved from last week.
But DNREC Division of Air Quality director Angela Marconi says with dozens of wildfires still burning throughout Canada, a change in meteorological conditions could bring particulate matter back down to Delaware with a shift in prevailing winds.
“Last week we saw influence from the fires in Eastern Canada, the week before that we saw some influence from fires in Western Canada, it’s really dependent on the meteorology," Marconi says. "I think what happened last week was the extreme.”
While the particulate matter from the fires has mostly dissipated, it is also the beginning of ozone season, which runs until the end of September.
“So when we get those stagnant summer days that are really sunny, that’s when we get worried about too much ozone formation,” Marconi says.
DNREC says the Environmental Protection Agency’s mantra for ozone is “Good up high, bad nearby” – “nearby” meaning ground-level ozone.
“But there are things we can do to help stem that by our own activities like carpooling, using electric motors as much as we can like for mowing lawns or doing those kinds of activities closer to sundown rather than earlier in the day,” Marconi says.
Marconi says Delawareans should continue to monitor daily air quality levels. Delaware.gov/aqi has real-time readings, and Marconi also encourages people to look at the EPA’s Air Now map, which has a fire and smoke feature.
It’s “bad” ozone to be aware of in Delaware, the country’s lowest-lying state, where the transportation sector currently is the largest single cause of air pollution.is the largest single cause of air pollution.
