Spare the Air season is now underway in the Bay Area.
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The Bay Area Air Quality Management District announced on Monday that the day marked the beginning of the summer smog season. Officials will begin issuing alerts when ozone concentrations are dangerous, as blooming flowers bring with them the potential for higher temperatures and higher ozone levels.
Air District officials encouraged residents to sign up for Spare the Air alerts ahead of the summer, as well as consider transportation options other than driving alone.
"Find alternatives to driving, because automobile emissions go up in the air, and they basically cook and turn into smog," Ralph Borrmann, a district spokesperson, said on Monday.
Ozone, a powerful lung irritant, can trigger asthma, congestion and chest pain, and the air district said one of the best ways to limit ozone pollution is for Bay Area residents to walk, bike, carpool or take public transportation to work on Spare the Air days, as well as to telecommute whenever possible.
"As more Bay Area residents return to the office and our roads become increasingly congested, it’s more important than ever that we find alternatives to driving alone," Damian Breen, a senior deputy executive officer for the Air District, said Monday in a press release.
Officials said it's too early to tell what impacts wildfire season will have upon the Bay Area's air. The Bay Area has experienced high concentrations of particulate matter over the past few summers due to wildfires, and Borrmann said the season’s severity will determine its effect upon local quality.
"We just hope that won't be this year," he said of the potential for wildfire-polluted air.
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