Thousands of Americans warned to 'shut windows now' as plume of 'hazardous' air engulfs Arizona
A massive dust storm engulfed a large swath of the southwestern United States, with almost 1 million Americans receiving warnings to stay indoors and "shut windows now" to avoid the "hazardous" air.
According to the EPA, the worst conditions stretched across a roughly 100-mile-wide corridor that included Yuma, Arizona, and Imperial County, California. Roughly 400,000 people live within this area, with more than half in Yuma. The Coachella Valley faced an air quality alert on Monday from the National Weather Service due to dust as well.
The danger came from windblown dust carrying high concentrations of particulate matter — pollution small enough to travel deep into people's lungs and trigger or worsen serious respiratory problems. Gusts of wind carrying the dust reached speeds of up to 50 miles per hour, according to the Daily Mail.
According to AirNow, an EPA tool to classify air pollution, an air quality index value above 300 should be considered "hazardous" and is the most concerning category of air.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/thousands-americans-warned-shut-windows-230000156.html
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