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Poor air quality forecasts force area schools to postpone local athletic contests
Lemoore soccer matches in Tiger Stadium were postponed to later dates due to air quality issues that forced Lemoore’s teams indoors. The Lemoore girls’ and boys’ teams were scheduled to play a game against Hanford West tonight (Jan. 8) but both matches have been rescheduled to Monday, Feb. 3. Wednesday’s games were also rescheduled from earlier dates when air quality forced cancellation.
According to Lemoore High School Athletic Director Ryan Tos, who is forced to make the call after conferring with District officials, games can be postponed if the AQI goes above 150. “Generally when it gets in the red we cancel outdoor activities,” he said.
And according to the AQI map of the Central Valley, Kings, Tulare and Kern counties are currently all in the red. That didn’t stop Visalia’s Redwood High School from postponing last night’s girls’ game in which the Rangers managed to end the Tigers 8-game winning streak 2-1.
Tos is betting on a light breeze and perhaps a chance of rain to improve conditions for tomorrow night’s (Jan. 9) soccer games against Mt. Whitney. The girls will play at home while the boys are expected to travel to Visalia.
The Air Pollution Control District issues Air Quality Index (AQI) Alerts on a regular basis, telling residents and local officials about local air quality and how unhealthy air may affect residents. The AQI tells us how clean or unhealthy our air is and what associated health affects might be a concern and focuses on health effects you may experience within a few hours or days after breathing unhealthy air.
The AQI is calculated for four major air pollutants regulated by the Clean Air Act: ground level ozone, particle pollution, carbon monoxide, and sulfur dioxide. For each of these pollutants the EPA has established national air quality standards to protect public health.
Schools are a primary recipient of AQI indicators. As of today, Kings County’s AQI is not quite the worst, but is rated very unhealthy, meaning schools are encouraged to keep kids inside during school hours. The AQI is a yardstick that runs from 0-500. The higher the AQI is, the greater the level of air pollution and the greater the health concern. When air quality values are above 100 on the index air quality is considered to be unhealthy.
As of Wednesday, the AQI for Kings County was in the Red Zone at 159.
