Cooling temperatures means healthier air for the Central Valley

The recent cooling in Merced County has helped improve air quality in the region, experts said Tuesday.

Pollutants from wildfires near Big Sur have been reduced, leading to better conditions in Merced County, according to San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District officials.

As of Tuesday, the Soberanes Fire was 50 percent contained, according to the Cal Fire website. The fire has burned more than 67,000 acres and leveled 57 homes. One person has died.

“They do correlate,” said Anthony Presto, outreach and communication representative for the Valley Air District. “The higher temperatures that came out during the beginning of these fires really brought up the ozone levels.”

Although the air quality this past weekend was reported at “good” and “moderate” levels, Presto said the emissions from the Soberanes Fire will once again start to negatively affect the San Joaquin Valley air by the beginning of next week.

“We’re expecting the fire to go on a while longer,” Presto said in a phone interview. “What’s been really helping us is the weather isn’t so hot.”

Temperatures this week will be in the low to mid-90s until the weekend, according to the National Weather Service. Friday temperatures are expected to reach 98 degrees and hit 100 by Saturday.

With school beginning this week, Presto encourages residents to keep track of the air levels using the Real-Time Air Advisory Network that can be found at valleyair.org.

“Residents should be aware that the presence of smoke means that you are being impacted and it is best to remain indoors during periods when you can see or smell smoke,” Presto said in an email to the Sun-Star.

Pollutants from wildfires can be worse on the health scale because the particles that can be inhaled are so small they can enter the bloodstream, Presto said, causing a greater risk for heart attacks and strokes.

The poorest air quality typically is reported between 1 and 6 p.m., Presto said.

“We also ask that you don’t make air quality worse by idling your vehicle and creating other unnecessary emissions,” Presto said in the email.

This story was originally published August 9, 2016 at 4:33 PM with the headline "Cooling temperatures means healthier air for the Central Valley."