Washington Issues Code Purple Alert After Fireworks Push AQI to 288
Updated
Updated · Forbes · Jul 5
Washington Issues Code Purple Alert After Fireworks Push AQI to 288
3 articles · Updated · Forbes · Jul 5
Summary
AQI at D.C.'s King Greenleaf Recreation Center peaked at 288 around 5 a.m. Sunday, prompting a code purple alert that warned air could reach “very unhealthy” levels for everyone.
The spike followed the capital's massive July 4 fireworks display, which began around midnight, and came after triple-digit heat left the region under a heat advisory with feels-like temperatures of 105 to 109.
By 10 a.m., McMillan Reservoir still recorded an AQI of 157, while parts of northern Virginia and Maryland suburbs remained in unhealthy ranges under separate code red alerts.
AirNow advised people to avoid outdoor exercise and long, intense activity, especially those with heart disease, asthma, older adults, children and pregnant women.
The deterioration came despite prior awareness inside the Trump administration that the anniversary display could produce “very unhealthy” air pollution, though past post-fireworks pollution in D.C. has usually cleared quickly.