(Tis the Season)…For Air Pollution.

Every Holiday season traffic lines increase. This is being attributed to increased amounts of Particulate Matter in the air. The County Air Pollution Control District has been issuing Air Quality Alerts for the past couple weeks. Most have been issued for the Calexico area. Friday morning lines were almost 3 hours long. Air Quality Alerts were issued throughout the night and into the morning Friday. Air Quality was listed as Unhealthy at 7:00 Friday morning. Very high levels of PM 2.5 were recorded at the Ethel Street Monitoring Station. PM 2.5 is a finite and dangerous particulate matter created mostly from vehicle exhaust emissions. People with respiratory or heart disease, the elderly and small children are at risk, especially when they are physically active. It is highly recommended that when air quality is listed as unhealthy because of PM 2.5, those at risk should avoid physical exertion and remain indoors until the level of particulate matter lowers.