• AQMD offers the following specific advice for curtailing activities at the following air quality levels:

  In areas with UNHEALTHY FOR SENSITIVE INDIVIDUALS air quality, sensitive or susceptible persons, such as those with heart or lung disease, should minimize outdoor activity.

  In areas with UNHEALTHY air quality, everyone should discontinue prolonged, vigorous outdoor exercise lasting longer than one hour.  Examples of the kinds of outdoor activities that should be avoided are calisthenics, basketball, running, soccer, football, tennis, swimming laps, and water polo.  Susceptible persons, such as those with heart or lung disease, should avoid outdoor activity entirely.

  In addition, AQMD offers the following general guidance for residents in areas affected by wildfire smoke:

  • Stay indoors.  Limit your exposure to unhealthful air quality conditions as much as possible. Keep your windows and doors closed. Use your air conditioning system, and place it on recirculation mode if available to avoid bringing outdoor air into the home. Remember to change your filters regularly. Indoor HEPA air filters can reduce the levels of particles in your home.

  • Play indoors. Choose indoor options for children that live and play in areas with unhealthful pollution levels. Schools and day care centers should limit or cancel outdoor activities and events that involve prolonged exposure and strenuous exercise or sports participation.

  • Reduce your activity. Reducing your physical activity lowers the amount of polluted air you breathe.

  • Consult your physician. If you suffer from a heart or lung ailment, monitor your physical condition closely and talk with your doctor. He or she can advise you on treatment and whether and when you should leave the area. Call your doctor immediately if your condition worsens.

  • Have a plan. People with chronic diseases should have an adequate supply of medications (5 days or more). Asthmatics should have a written asthma management plan available.

   

• As of May 3, 2007, the wildfires near Waycross, Georgia have burned 93,266 acres of land.

• About 1,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes near Waycross last week, and most have not been allowed to return. An additional 5,000 people were urged to voluntarily evacuate because of health risks posed by heavy smoke. 16 miles of U.S. Route 1 have been closed.

Supplementary Material:

NASA's AQUA Satellite:

• Aqua, Latin for water, is a NASA Earth Science satellite mission collecting about the Earth's water cycle, including evaporation from the oceans, water vapor in the atmosphere, clouds, precipitation, soil moisture, sea ice, land ice, and snow cover on the land and ice. The Aqua spacecraft (formally known as EOS-PM) was successfully launched on May 4, 2002 at the Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in Lompoc, California. It is flying at an altitude of 705 km (438 miles) observing the Earth, and the life expectancy is 6 years. [Aqua's Orbit], [Animation of MODIS Observing the Earth]

• Aqua passes south to north over the equator in the afternoon, and thus it passes over us at the same local time every day, approximately 1:30 p.m.