Greater Cincinnati placed under air quality alert for Thursday

With the weather beginning to warm up again, the Cincinnati area will be under an air quality alert on Thursday.

The Southwest Ohio Air Quality Agency issued the alert for the entire day on Thursday, Sept. 5, from midnight to 11:59 p.m. The scope of the alert includes Butler, Clermont, Hamilton and Warren counties in Ohio; Boone, Campbell, and Kenton counties in Kentucky; and Dearborn County in Indiana.

The agency expects to see levels of ozone in the “unhealthy for sensitive groups” range on the air quality index.  Temperatures for Thursday are forecast to be in the high 80s with mostly clear and dry conditions, according to the National Weather Service in Wilmington .

To help reduce ozone formation, the Southwest Ohio Air Quality Agency recommends taking the following actions:

• Take the bus, carpool, bike, or walk instead of drive.
• Refuel your vehicle after 8 p.m.; do not top off when refueling and tighten the gas cap.
• Do not idle your vehicle; exhaust contributes considerably to ozone formation.
• Combine trips or eliminating unnecessary vehicle trips.
• Keep your vehicle maintained with properly inflated tires and timely oil changes.
• Avoid use of gasoline-powered lawn equipment on air quality alert days.
• Avoid use of oil-based paints and stains on air quality alert days.
• Never burn leaves or other yard trimmings.
• Suspend use of fire pits, campfires and charcoal grills on air quality alert days.
• Conserve electricity by turning out lights and unplugging unused appliances and electronics.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Greater Cincinnati placed under air quality alert for Thursday