A new online tool will make it easier for North Carolinians to access detailed information about air quality and weather conditions in their communities.
The North Carolina State Climate Office partnered with the North Carolina Division of Air Quality to create a website that lets the public track hazards in the air around them. It combines data collected from monitoring sensors and weather stations.
When you open the tool there's a statewide map that shows ozone levels and temperatures, but you can change categories to see other information like particulate matter levels. You can even view past air quality data and get the latest forecasts for that morning run.
Corey Davis is the Assistant State Climatologist. He says the tool was launched a few weeks ago and provided important information during the testing process.
“I think already this summer with some of those smoky days, and also some of the hot days that we had earlier in August we've already seen the value in that," says Davis. "Not only looking at where the air quality is bad, but also what some of the weather drivers of that may be."
Davis says the Climate Office at North Carolina State University is also working with environmental officials to develop more public resources, including an Air Quality Portal for North Carolina.
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