The state is predicting worse air quality on Friday, July 3rd and Sunday, July 5th for the following counties in Southwest Indiana: Daviess, Dubois, Gibson, Greene, Knox, Perry, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh and Warrick.
This means children, seniors, and anyone with a heart or lung condition should avoid strenuous work or outside exercise. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management says hot weather and pollution from things like cars and factories creates more ground-level ozone. That can make it more difficult to breathe and cause coughing. People can help reduce ground-level ozone by walking, biking, or working from home. If you do have to drive your car, IDEM says make fewer trips and turn off your engine if you're idling for more than 30 seconds. You can also set your thermostat to higher than 75 degrees.
Updated on July 3rd to include Sunday