The Department of Environmental Protection and its regional air quality partnerships have forecast a code Orange air quality action day for ozone in the Philadelphia region today- Thursday, July 5.

On air quality action days officials encourage kids, the elderly and those with special respiratory difficulties like asthma, emphysema and bronchitis, to limit outdoor activities to a minimum

The Philadelphia region includes all of Bucks, Chester and Montgomery counties in our area.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s standardized air quality index uses colors to report daily air quality. Green signifies good; yellow means moderate; orange represents unhealthy pollution levels for sensitive people; and red warns of unhealthy pollution levels for all.

Ground-level ozone, a key component of smog, forms during warm weather when pollution from vehicles, industry, households and power plants “bakes” in the hot sun, making it hard for some people to breathe.