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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, October 27, 2009 |
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Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Updating, Improving Air Quality ForecastDENVER— The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is making several important, long-term changes to its Denver-metro air quality forecasting effort beginning this fall. The changes will improve the way in which current and forecasted air quality conditions are understood and communicated to the public and the media each day. Beginning Oct. 31 – the traditional start of the wintertime High Pollution Season that runs through the end of March – department air quality meteorologists no longer will issue “red” or “blue” advisories each afternoon. Instead, forecasts will feature the federal Air Quality Index scale to predict peak pollutant levels during the forecast period (4 p.m. to 4 p.m.). Visibility conditions will continue to be forecast separately using the state-only Visibility Standard Index. Residential burning restrictions, if warranted, will continue to be presented as part of the forecast. When either pollutant conditions and/or visibility are expected to exceed standards, the department will call for an “Action Day,” just as it does during the summer for ground-level ozone. During the wintertime season, Action Days will activate mandatory residential burning restrictions that limit burning to approved devices only. Action Days also encourage voluntary action to limit driving. Impaired visibility will be the reason for most Action Days during the wintertime season. Paul Tourangeau, director of the department’s Air Pollution Control Division, explained the reasons for the changes. “The red and blue advisories, which predated the national Air Quality Index system by more than a decade, attempted to communicate all aspects of air quality, including current and forecasted pollutant levels, current and forecasted visibility conditions, and residential burning restrictions,” Tourangeau said. “Combining so much information into one message often led to information that was, in fact, ambiguous. We are going to change that.” Tourangeau said it is important that the public become more familiar with the federal Air Quality Index scale that is used throughout the country to communicate specific pollutant information. “This index is the most common and accurate means of providing air quality information to the public,” Tourangeau said. “We feel it is important to make clear the distinction between current air quality conditions and forecasted conditions,” Tourangeau said. “We also are going to report current and predicted visibility readings separately from current and predicted pollutant levels. This will help the public better understand the health effects of individual pollutants so they can make informed decisions that protect their health and their communities. “It is important for the public to have the information to understand current and forecasted air quality for public health, as well as for visibility. There is a difference between forecasting for visibility and informing citizens of possible public health concerns,” added Tourangeau. Forecasts are available every day throughout the year on the department’s Web site (http://www.colorado.gov/airquality) as well as from its telephone hotlines (303-758-4848 and 303-782-0211). “We’ve been forecasting air quality and reporting on current air quality conditions daily for decades now, but the forecast only received emphasis during the winter and, more recently, during the summer because of ozone,” Tourangeau said. “Air quality is important every day of the year. We encourage everyone to think about air quality on a daily basis and we encourage local media to provide air quality information on a daily basis as well.” ---30--- |
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