WASHINGTON — Air quality officials have issued a Code Purple Air Quality Alert for D.C. and Northern Virginia on Sunday, July 5.  Code purple means the air is very unhealthy for everyone.  The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments website showed the air quality declining this weekend.

D.C.
Air quality readings early Sunday morning ranged from code red to purple across D.C.  Between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m., the air quality reading in D.C. was code purple according to AirNow.gov.  By 7 a.m. the reading was code red, and remained code red until about 11 a.m.    After 12 p.m. Sunday, the reading dropped to code orange, which is unhealthy for some. While still not the best air quality code orange is an improvement over code red or purple.  The forecast still calls for code purple air quality at times on Sunday.  Code red readings in D.C. stared at 11 p.m. July 4th, according to AirNow.gov.

Virginia
Areas in Virginia, such as Reston, showed moderate air quality or code yellow most of the day on Sunday.  The readings on AirNow.gov in Fairfax showed code red air quality from roughly 3 a.m. to 6 a.m.  By later in the afternoon, the trend showed code yellow, which is moderate, but not as bad as code red.  The forecast still called for code purple air quality at times.

Maryland
In the Maryland suburbs that surround D.C., the air quality briefly spiked to code red.   According to AirNow.gov, the air quality dropped to code red in some Maryland suburbs such as Silver Spring and College Park, between 9 a.m. and  10 a.m. Sunday. The trend showed the air improving to moderate, but a code orange alert was still in the forecast for the afternoon.

For Southern Maryland and Maryland Piedmont, the air quality is expected to remain moderate at code yellow and improve to good air quality by Monday July 6th.

Who is most impacted?
With code red and purple, everyone is at risk for harmful health impacts.  Children, the elderly, and pregnant women are especially vulnerable but even people in good health could experience irritation from the pollutants.  Exposure to poor air quality can lead to eye and throat irritation, coughing, wheezing and more health concerns, especially after long term exposure.  Long term concerns with air pollution, even at modest levels have been linked to heart, respiratory, and neurological conditions according to the World Health Organization.

What can I do to stay safe?
The EPA says that in “unhealthy” air (code red), people should avoid long or intense outdoor activity and consider moving activities indoors, while others should reduce heavy exertion and take more breaks outside. In “very unhealthy” conditions (code purple), everyone should avoid long or intense outdoor activity and move activities indoors when possible.

Masks may offer some protection, especially N95 and KN95.

When will air quality improve ?
Air quality should begin to improve by Monday.  Even rain late Sunday could help to clear some of the pollutants.