Code Red Air Quality For The Carolinas And It’s The First In Years

Allergies are something I've been dealing with for most of my life. When I was 10 years old, I started getting allergy shots. I did those for a bit then my mom started giving me all-natural allergy drops that would go under my tongue. As I got older, they didn't seem to bother me lots but they came back in my late 20's. Now I just do saline rinses, Allegra, and Flonase. If you have allergies, then you know that this year has been really bad. Unfortunately, we're going to be dealing with more than just allergies the next few days. According to WCNC, the Carolinas are dealing with really poor air quality today, and possibly for the rest of the week. A 'Code Red' air quality alert is in effect for us today. It's the first 'Code Red' alert since 2016. I thought this meant the pollen count was really high, but that's not it. WCNC Chief Meteorologist Brad Panovich says that the air quality will be unhealthy today and for the next few days. The issue is due to smoke funneling into our area from a wildfires in Canada. A haze in the air is happening today in North and South Carolina. If you're dealing with bad allergies, asthma, or have other respiratory conditions, staying inside is safest. You may experience serious effects due to the pollutants in the air. However, everyone can be affected when the air quality is this bad. There is an Air Quality Index scale that the Environmental Protection Agency uses. This scale is from 0 to 500, and the higher the number, the worse the air quality is. Anything under 100, is below the level known to cause adverse health effects. We're at 151 today, however, that number could rise. Basically, this means the air quality isn't good and you should limit your time outside, especially if you have health issues. [embed]https://twitter.com/wxbrad/status/1666426459726966785?s=20[/embed]