What's up, Forsyth?

  What's up, Forsyth??   Brrr...it's finally starting to feel like winter! It's the time of year for drinking hot cocoa, cozying up on the couch with a good book, and warming up the car in the morning before driving off to work...well, hopefully not the last one!  " Hot chocolate on a cold day! " by  blmcalifornia  is marked with  Public Domain Mark 1.0 . While ground-level ozone isn't typically much of a concern during colder months in North Carolina, we still face other air quality challenges. In fact, fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is usually higher, partly because c old weather can trap pollution at the surface through   temperature inversions . Shorter daylight hours in the winter also allows for longer durations of nocturnal temperatures inversions on clear nights with light winds. If there is snow on the ground, this phenomenon may be amplified!  Additionally, air is typically drier in the winter because cold air holds less moisture. With...

  It’s that time of year again, and those who are not offered yard waste pick up may be left wondering what to do with all the leaf litter.   Leaf burning is seen as a solution for some, but it may be illegal depending on where you live . Even where the burning of leaves and other vegetation is generally allowed, there are specific conditions that must be met, including a code green or yellow air quality forecast for that day. To learn more, check out the Forsyth County Office of Environmental Assistance & Protection webpage on residential burning . In addition to the legal considerations, burning leaves and other vegetation is a potential fire hazard. It also creates air pollution by producing toxic gases (like carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and hydrocarbons) and particulate matter, which are tiny, inhalable solid particles and liquid droplets, some of which are even small enough in diameter (<2.5 microns) to enter the bloodstream. Inhalation of these particl...