The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality says Thursday will have conditions favorable to the formation of ground-level ozone air pollution, and declared an Ozone Alert Day for July 24.
The primary component of smog, ground-level ozone is a health risk to the general populace of Central Oklahoma but especially dangerous to children, the elderly and anyone with respiratory or cardiovascular illnesses including asthma, diabetes and emphysema.
Ground-level ozone forms when nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) chemically react with sunlight on hot, windless days. NOx and VOC emissions come from a variety of sources including our cars and trucks, construction equipment, gas-powered lawn equipment and even charcoal grills.
What You Can Do
- Wait until nightfall to refuel your vehicle
- Delay lawn work with any gasoline-powered device
- Use public transit like OKC's METRO Transit, Norman's CART or Edmond's Citylink
- Use ODOT's Pathfinder to avoid idling in traffic during your commutes
- Share rides with friends or co-workers using GetAroundOK
- Passengers ride fare-free on Cleveland Area Rapid Transit (CART) on Ozone Alert Days. All routes, except CART’s Sooner Express to Oklahoma City, will be fare free. The Sooner Express is a shared route with EMBARK (formerly METRO Transit) of Oklahoma City. Passengers will ride free on all other CART routes and on CARTaccess, the origin-to-destination service for the elderly and disabled.
