Orange air quality days might have a smell, Accuweather meteorologist explains
Photo credit Getty Images
On the first day of summer, St. Louis has its first orange-level air quality day of the season. Accuweather Meteorologist Dean DeVore said a big factor in air quality is ozone.
"A lot of times in these heat wave situations, because of the way the atmosphere works, it creates a large amounts of ozone that get trapped at the surface on a hot and sticky day like today," DeVore said on Total Information AM.
He added that orange days like these can be harmful to people who are sensitive to ozone. And, he added, ozone has a smell.
"It's that odor that sometimes you get in a summer afternoon, when you get that first hint of rain, you know, that little smell, it's a little metallic smelling -- that's the ozone gases."
He added that COVID has made air quality an even more important issue for sensitive groups.
"Obviously COVID made breathing a real situation that some of us may have taken for granted who weren't necessarily great shape or great health," he said. "And then we add COVID to the mix, and the ability to breathe becomes even more important."
"A lot of times in these heat wave situations, because of the way the atmosphere works, it creates a large amounts of ozone that get trapped at the surface on a hot and sticky day like today," DeVore said on Total Information AM.
He added that orange days like these can be harmful to people who are sensitive to ozone. And, he added, ozone has a smell.
"It's that odor that sometimes you get in a summer afternoon, when you get that first hint of rain, you know, that little smell, it's a little metallic smelling -- that's the ozone gases."
He added that COVID has made air quality an even more important issue for sensitive groups.
"Obviously COVID made breathing a real situation that some of us may have taken for granted who weren't necessarily great shape or great health," he said. "And then we add COVID to the mix, and the ability to breathe becomes even more important."
