ATLANTA — An orange air quality alert is in effect for Atlanta and the surrounding metro counties for Tuesday, July 18. It's set to expire at 6:30 p.m.
The notice was put out on Monday by the National Weather Service.
"Under Code Orange conditions, the outdoor air quality is likely to be unhealthy for some people," the NWS said in the notice. "Children, people who are sensitive to ozone, and people with heart or lung disease should limit prolonged outdoor exertion during the late afternoon or early evening when ozone concentrations are highest."
As of late morning Tuesday, air quality became unhealthy for all people, not just those with sensitive conditions, based on air quality sensors. Folks are advised to limit their time outside.
On Monday, a plume of smoke from the Canadian wildfires cast a haze across the southeast, which is contributing to the air quality alert.
The smoke will stick around for the first part of the week. We'll have the highest concentration of smoke Monday, but with light winds will still encounter elevated smoke levels Tuesday.
Wildfire smoke creates filter for north Georgia sunrises, sunsets
A heat wave is also intensifying through the week. On Tuesday, there will be even hotter temperatures with plenty of sunshine. We'll climb to the upper 90s, near 100° in many locations by Wednesday.
Humidity creeps back up by Wednesday and Thursday. This could bring our temperatures to dangerous levels with heat index values well into the triple digits.
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