I was born in the Texas panhandle and spent a majority of my life in West Texas/Southeastern New Mexico…where it was hot and dry.  I never really experienced much humidity – but I’ve experienced extreme temperatures living in Arizona.  Since I’ve lived here in North Carolina, the weather hasn’t really been that bad – the summers are actually bearable and the humidity hasn’t been so bad.  The other day I was driving into work, and noticed an sign in front of the Cisco Systems building that said “Air Quality Action Day.”  I asked about it at work, and apparently it’s a day (or series of days in this case) where they don’t let kids out for recess (or so I’m told) and recommend people stay indoors as much as possible.  The North Carolina Division of Air Quality put out the following warning:

THE DIVISION OF AIR QUALITY AT THE NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND NATURAL RESOURCES HAS ISSUED A CODE ORANGE AIR QUALITY ACTION DAY FOR THE TRIANGLE AREA. AN AIR QUALITY ACTION DAY MEANS THAT GROUND LEVEL OZONE CONCENTRATIONS WITHIN THE REGION MAY APPROACH OR EXCEED UNHEALTHY STANDARDS. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION…PLEASE VISIT THE NORTH CAROLINA DIVISION OF AIR QUALITY WEB SITE AT DAQ.STATE.NC.US/AIRAWARE/FORECAST/.

AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING MEANS THAT A PROLONGED PERIOD OF DANGEROUSLY HOT TEMPERATURES WILL OCCUR. THE COMBINATION OF HOT TEMPERATURES AND HIGH HUMIDITY WILL COMBINE TO CREATE A DANGEROUS SITUATION IN WHICH HEAT ILLNESSES ARE LIKELY. DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS…STAY IN AN AIR-CONDITIONED ROOM…STAY OUT OF THE SUNSHINE…AND CHECK UP ON RELATIVES AND NEIGHBORS.

This is completely new to me!

[tags]air quality, ozone, heat, humidity[/tags]