What You Need to Know: Air Quality Alerts and Air Quality Health Advisories

For Immediate Release:  May 11, 2023

Contact:  Erin Hatfield, (405) 437.8468

This May, the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is working to educate Oklahomans on air quality. Through an ongoing social media campaign, DEQ hopes to bring awareness to air quality issues faced by our state. Of particular importance, is the distinction between air quality alerts and air quality health advisories.

An air quality alert is a forecast predicting unhealthy levels of ozone or particulate matter (PM) for the next day.  Ozone and PM alerts are designed to help people prepare to reduce their exposure and their contribution to air pollution. Air quality health advisories are real-time notices that air pollution levels are currently unhealthy for sensitive groups or the general population. Advisories include actions based on sensitivity to air pollution.

People may sign up to receive air quality notifications at:  https://www.deq.ok.gov/divisions/aqd/. To learn more about DEQ’s air quality awareness campaign, follow them on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

Media inquiries should be directed to Erin Hatfield at 405.437.8468.

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