Saturday is an Air Quality Action Day in central Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) has issued an Air Quality Action Day on Saturday due to forecasted high ozone levels in central Indiana.

Central Indiana counties including Marion, Bartholomew, Boone, Brown, Delaware, Hamilton, Hendricks, Howard, Madison and Shelby are part of the alert.

IDEM encourages everyone to help reduce ozone by making changes to daily habits. You can:

• Drive less: carpool, use public transportation, walk, bike, or work from home when possible
• Combine errands into one trip
• Avoid refueling your vehicle or using gasoline-powered lawn equipment until after 7 p.m.
• Keep your engine tuned, and don’t let your engine idle (e.g., at a bank or restaurant drive-thru)
• Conserve energy by turning off lights and setting the thermostat to 75 degrees or above

Air Quality Action Days are in effect from midnight to 11:59 p.m. on the specified date.

Anyone sensitive to changes in air quality may be affected when ozone levels are high. Children, the elderly, and anyone with heart or lung conditions should reduce or avoid exertion and heavy work outdoors.

To learn more about ozone or to sign up for air quality alerts, visit SmogWatch.IN.gov.