In addition to the humid heat, Atlanta is waking up to a Code Orange air quality alert Tuesday.
The main pollutant will be ground-level ozone — a major component of smog — that is created by air pollutants reacting with the sunshine, according to AirNow.
“That combination of car exhaust and the heat and the sunlight today, it’s going to create issues with air quality,” Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brian Monahan said. “As we go through today, the peak heating of the afternoon, that air quality will become poor around metro Atlanta.”
It’s a common issue during the summer months, but people with respiratory issues, such as allergies and asthma, should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors.
The heat may keep you from wanting to spend too much time outdoors, anyway. With the high today climbing into the mid-90s along with high humidity, it’ll feel closer to triple digits, according to the National Weather Service. By Wednesday, feels-like temperatures are expected to top 100 degrees.
High temperatures will only continue rising this week as a portion of the heat dome smothering the southwestern part of the country breaks off and inches closer to Georgia, Monahan said. Heat advisory levels — when heat indices exceed 105 degrees — aren’t forecasted yet, but it is something that will be monitored closely, the NWS reports.
There is not much rain in the forecast to help cool things down, either, Monahan said.
“This time of year, really hard to completely cut off the chance of an isolated afternoon shower or storm,” he said. “There won’t be much, though, today.”
That trend will continue into the foreseeable future with rain chances staying mostly within the 10-20% range for most of the week. The best chance for rain will come on Saturday with a 30% chance.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
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