Kansas City’s orange ozone alert continues Tuesday

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - The air quality in Kansas City is the worst it has been this year, and it will remain that way Tuesday, as the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) issued an orange ozone alert after consulting with area meteorologists.

Last year Kansas City saw 14 ozone alerts, including a red ozone alert in June (of 2023).

Karen Clawson is the air quality program manager at MARC, and she explained the contributions behind Monday and Tuesday’s decision.

“The highest pollutant right now is actually particulate matter, and that is coming from the smoke from the Canadian wildfires,” Clawson said. “You might start feeling symptoms that seem like allergies to you – if it’s really bothersome, stay inside.”

An orange alert day denotes the air quality is unhealthy for sensitive groups, while red would be unhealthy for most people.

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MARC said the most impact people can make is when considering their transportation.

“Kansas City really was built based on the automobile, but we have other options, too,” Clawson said. “Especially short trips, like under a mile, maybe instead we decide to walk, take the bus, or we scoot, or carpool.”

MARC is asking people to also limit filling cars with gasoline during the day time, because of the vapors that are emitted and ultimately mix with sunlight to cause additional ozone.

People wanting to learn more about air quality in Kansas City can utilize MARC’s Skycast or go to airqkc.org.