KINGSTON — The state Department of Environmental Conservation issued an ozone warning for the Hudson Valley until 11 p.m. on Thursday.
The advisory is the third ozone warning already this month that the DEC has issued for the lower Hudson Valley region, which includes Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Ulster and Sullivan counties. The advisory is also in effect for the New York City metro area, which includes New York and Rockland and Westchester counties.
The warning comes as heat and humidity are climbing following thunderstorms that led to flash flooding on Sunday. Temperatures in the region were expected to climb into the upper 80s with severe thunderstorms on Thursday, according to forecast data from the National Weather Service and New York State Mesonet.
In a release, the DEC said that summer heat can lead to the formation of ground-level ozone — a surface pollutant that is different than the protective layer of ozone in the upper atmosphere. The primary sources of ground-level ozone are automobile exhaust and out-of-state emission sources, which DEC said are the most serious air pollution problems in the Northeast.
Ozone should also not be confused with the fine particles emitted by wildfire smoke that has worsened air quality several times this summer. Those particles are produced directly as smoke from wildfires. By contrast, ozone is not a direct emission — it is produced indirectly when sunlight chemically reacts with nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds from automobile exhaust and industrial emissions, according to the DEC. High ozone isn’t as visible as fine particulate matter because it’s a colorless gas, but in high concentrations, it will produce hazy skies and reduce visibility.
While the advisory is in effect, the DEC said that people — especially young children, those who exercise outdoors, those involved in vigorous outdoor work and those who have a…
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