PROVIDENCE – The number of air quality alert days in Rhode Island doubled from 2017 to 2018, according to the Environmental Protection Agency Tuesday.
The number of days that the EPA measures ozone concentrations above what is considered to be healthy increased from six to 12 days this summer. The number of days with the alert in Massachusetts remained unchanged at 12 this summer. Vermont had the least air quality alert days in the summer of 2018 with just one, the same as the previous year. Connecticut had the most days in New England in the summer of 2018 at 23.
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“While we have made good progress reducing ozone pollution over the past several decades, more work needs to be done to ensure that people can enjoy good air quality, even during a hot and dry summer when conditions favor the formation of ground-level ozone,” said EPA New England Regional Administrator Alexandra Dunn in a statement. “EPA is continuing to take action to reduce ozone pollution, so we are optimistic that air quality will continue to improve in New England.”
Despite the doubling of air quality alert days in Rhode Island, the EPA said the year-over-year change in New England was only a “slight increase,” from an aggregate 25 days to an aggregate 28 days.
