May marks the beginning of ozone season in most areas of the United States, and during Air Quality Awareness Week, which begins today, two federal agencies want to remind you to protect your health by keeping an eye on your daily Air Quality Index (AQI) and forecast information.

Also see:

• Ozone: The Good and Bad of Ozone
• Bush Orders EPA to Weaken New Ozone Standards
• Americans Breathe Dangerous Levels of Smog
• More Than Half of U.S. Population Lives in Counties with Unsafe Air
• New EPA Air Quality Standards Please No One
• Why Do Heat Waves Make Air Quality Worse?
• Are Backyard Barbecues Bad for Your Health?

"Be Air Aware" is the theme of this year's Air Quality Awareness Week, April 28 to May 2, 2008. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established Air Quality Awareness Week to remind Americans of the important role that air quality forecasts can play in their daily lives.

Keep an Eye on the AQI
About 300 cities nationwide issue daily forecasts based on EPA's AQI, a simple, color-coded scale that describes a community's air quality and what steps people should take to reduce their exposure to pollution. AQI forecasts are available for ozone, which occurs primarily in the summer, and for particle pollution, which can occur all year round.

NOAA air quality forecast guidance, updated twice daily, is improving state and local agency forecasters' ability to predict the onset, severity and duration of poor air quality episodes. In addition, NOAA's comprehensive air quality predictions provide hour-by-hour information for people in cities, suburbs, and rural areas throughout the eastern United States. Similar information is now available for the western United States on an experimental basis.

Air Quality Can Affect Your Health
If air pollution reaches high enough levels, the air can be unhealthy for everyone, especially for people who are active outdoors. Reducing exposure and potential adverse health effects can be as simple as lowering the intensity of your exercise or other activities such as yard work, or rescheduling outdoor activities for a time when air quality is expected to be better.

Check Air Quality Forecasts Online or Get E-mail and Pager Alerts
Daily air quality forecasts are available on Air Now, or through the EPA's EnviroFlash tool, which provides customizable forecasts and e-mail or pager notifications.

_{Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency}