Local ozone levels Saturday will be unhealthy for certain groups of people, according to a warning issued by the Fort Wayne-Allen County Department of Health.
Active children and adults, the elderly and people with heart or lung disease should limit or avoid prolonged outdoor exertion. If breathing becomes difficult, go indoors and contact your health care provider.
Ground level ozone is formed when a mixture of air pollutants are cooked in the sunlight. Weather conditions used in forecasting levels of ground-level ozone include amount of sunshine, temperature, wind direction and humidity. Even at low levels, breathing ground-level ozone can trigger a variety of health problems for people with asthma and other respiratory illnesses.
To reduce ozone levels, everyone should: Walk, bike, carpool or use public transportation, avoid using the drive-through, combine errands into one trip and turn off the engine when idling for more than 10 seconds, maintain proper air pressure in tires, delay lawn mowing or vehicle refueling until after 7 p.m. and conserve electricity by turning off lights and computers when not in use.
