Code Orange air quality alert issued for Philadelphia area, includes Bucks, Montgomery, Delaware, Chester counties
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A Code Orange air quality alert issued for multiple parts of Pennsylvania, including several counties in the Philadelphia area, will remain in effect Tuesday.
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Philadelphia, Bucks, Montgomery, Delaware and Chester counties are all included in the Air Quality Action Day due to ozone pollution. According to meteorologist Kate Bilo, this happens frequently with a prolonged heat wave as pollutants become trapped near the Earth's surface.
In the Susquehanna Valley, Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lebanon, Lancaster and York counties are also under the Code Orange alert.
Air quality in the "orange" category is considered unhealthy for sensitive groups of people, including children, the elderly and those with lung conditions like asthma, according to the Environmental Protection Agency's Air Quality Index. People included in those sensitive groups are urged to limit the amount of time they spend outside while air quality is poor.
According to the DEP, mostly sunny skies combined with high temperatures in the 90s and very light winds could create conditions for "robust ozone development".
A heat advisory also remains in effect for the Greater Philadelphia area until Tuesday evening. At the peak, it'll feel like close to 104-105 degrees.