High pollution levels expected to continue with irregular weather

Abnormal weather conditions have led to high and dangerous pollution levels, prompting air officials to issue health cautions and ban wood burning in several Valley counties.

Last week, San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District officials announced that higher moisture levels brought on by recent rain were followed by unseasonably high temperatures.

A resulting strong inversion layer kept temperatures high and trapped fine particulates in the air basin. Levels tripled, resulting in unhealthy air quality throughout Valley counties.

According to air officials, air quality is not expected to improve this week.

Anthony Presto, an air district spokesman, said that to see any real improvemir district spokesman, said that to see any real improvement, both strong rain and wind are needed. Light rain is expected for Thursday but probably will not be enough to make a difference, and it might actually make conditions worse, he said.

“You really need a lot of rain to clean it out,” Presto said. “The rain was great when it was happening, but the moisture turned around and had a negative impact because it got warm so quickly.”

While irregular weather conditions are the main cause for the high pollution, officials explained that any added pollution can easily worsen conditions. For this reason, the district has been urging residents to refrain from wood-burning activities and reduce driving when possible.

According to Presto, it is important that residents make use of the district’s Real-Time Air Advisory Network program, to check air quality hour by hour. This way, residents can better plan outdoor exposure for hours when the pollution level is lower.

Fine-particulate pollution is known to cause respiratory and lung problems. Poor air can also trigger heart problems.

Presto also reminds people to check before they burn. The district’s regulation program on fireplace use determines when residential wood burning will add dangerous levels of particulate matter – tiny pieces of soot, ash, dust and other materials – to the Valley’s air.

Wood-burning forecasts are issued by each county daily, advising residents when not to burn and when it is safe to burn. For more information, go to www.valleyair.org. or (800) 766-4463.

This story was originally published November 10, 2014 at 8:25 PM with the headline "High pollution levels expected to continue with irregular weather."