Understanding air quality and the health impacts

Weeks of wildfires have led to poor air quality in the region.

What are the health impacts and what does AQI mean?

Us have been asking each day before stepping outside... what type of air quality will i encounter today?... and what precuations do i need to take?

I turned to local air quality managers to get some answers.

<i caught up with a butte county air quality planner to ask... what*exactl* do we need to understand about air quality and impacts to our health.

The air quality index - or a-q-i... has been vacilating between unhealthy or very unhealthy for weeks now - the result of wildfires.

You can check - real time air qulity - with a simple online visit.

All the gunk in the air... is classified as "particulate matter" -- pm... and it can be harmful.

The more time spent outdoors - the more we are exposed.

Susan ross says she spent time in the park over the weekend - and felt the impacts.

((sot)) we were out here for several hours and we went home with headaches and sore throats... over time, it's not going to be good for our health."

((sot)) the main concern could be your lungs.

These fine particles of smoke can penetrate deep into the lungs, past all your bodily defenses... these particles are so small they are 2.5 microns smaller than a human hair."

((take vo)) mandly says try to limit time outdoors - and if you*ar* out... hold off on strenuous excercise.

For inside your home... mandly says make sure to have correct air filters those with a high rating, known as merv.

An* - he says if you also use a portable air filtration system... make sure it has high efficiency hepa filters.

The good news..our air quality is expected to clear more by the end of the week.

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