The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has issued an ozone watch for the Houston, Brazoria and Galveston areas, saying conditions are favorable for production of high levels of the pollutant.
While Fort Bend County is not part of the alert, weather patterns often move ozone from the Houston area west into eastern Fort Bend, as a new air-monitoring site in Sugar Land sometimes indicates.
Commuters to Houston also should be aware of the threat of high ozone readings, coupled with continued unseasonably hot weather (today’s high is predicted to reach 101 degrees).
High concentrations of ozone can irritate people’s lungs. People with chronic lung disease such as asthma and emphysema should take steps to avoid exposure, the TCEQ said. So should small children and the elderly.
Avoiding exposure to ozone generally entails remaining indoors as much as possible, and minimize exertion outside, especially from the mid-afternoon to evening, when ozone levels tend to reach their peak.
The TCEQ noted in a statement this morning that air with high levels of ozone may easily move into other areas depending on wind and other factors.
The ozone watch could be upgraded to an ozone warning “if air pollution levels are detected at unhealthy levels,” the TCEQ said.
