Bridgeport, CT – The City of Bridgeport EOC is monitoring an area of very dense smoke positioned throughout Upstate New York and northern Pennsylvania. This area of dense smoke is forecast to move into Connecticut over the next few hours with higher smoke density expected than what was observed yesterday. AQI values will likely stay between 150-200PM2.5 however within the highest concentrations of smoke the AQI level could possibly increase to “very unhealthy” with is an AQI value over 200PM2.5

At 10:16 AM EDT the National Weather Service has issued the following for our area:

10:16 AM EDT Wednesday, June 7, 2023:

...AIR QUALITY ALERT IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT EDT TONIGHT...

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has issued an Air Quality Action Day for the following counties: Fairfield, New Haven, Middlesex, New London. until midnight EDT tonight.

An Air Quality Action Day means that Fine Particulates within the region may approach or exceed unhealthy standards. For additional information, please visit the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Web site at http://www.ct.gov/deep/aqi

So what does this mean? Air quality levels in outdoor air are predicted to be greater than an Air Quality Index value of 100 for the pollutant of Fine Particulates. The Air Quality Index, or AQI, was created as an easy way to correlate levels of different pollutants to one scale. The higher the AQI value, the greater the health concern.

Mayor Ganim stated, “I greatly recommend all residents of the City of Bridgeport to take caution when having to leave their homes today, due to the air quality alert. Please be advised that being outside for prolonged periods of time is currently not safe and I implore everyone to monitor their health during the time of which the air quality is issued.”

When pollution levels are elevated, the City of Bridgeport Department of Public Health & EOC recommends that individuals consider limiting strenuous outdoor physical activity to reduce the risk of adverse health effects. People who may be especially sensitive to the effects of elevated levels of pollutants include the very young, and those with preexisting respiratory problems such as asthma or heart disease should consider remaining indoors. Those with symptoms should consider consulting their personal physician on other steps to take to minimize the effects of poor air quality.

For more information or to monitor air quality please visit www.airnow.gov