Better air quality for Long Island Tuesday; highs of mid to low 80s this week

Long Island's air quality should improve Tuesday after a day in which an air quality advisory was in effect for Long Island and the New York City area.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation had issued the Monday alert for 11 a.m. through 11 p.m. due to ozone pollution. Tuesday, air quality on Long Island should be moderate or even good in some places on Long Island, according to the AirNow federal website.

The DEC put out an air quality alert for Tuesday, for the Lower Hudson Valley and New York City Metro, which includes New York City and Rockland and Westchester counties. The pollutant is ozone but the alert from the Canadian wildfires remains valid as smoke may still be visible in the sky.

The DEC said ozone forms when sunlight chemically reacts with nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds from automobile exhaust and industrial emissions. People with cardiovascular disease or respiratory disease, young children, the elderly, those who exercise outdoors and those involved in vigorous outdoor work should consider staying indoors and limiting strenuous outdoor physical activity during these alerts, the DEC said.

Gov. Kathy Hochul put out a news release Monday saying: “I urge New Yorkers to ‘Be Air Quality Aware’ and to please take proper precautions to keep themselves and their loved ones safe.” 

This week, highs will stay the mid- to high 80s, and it will be sunny Tuesday and Wednesday, with a chance for showers and storms Wednesday evening and possibly into Thursday morning.

The system clears by Friday, allowing for dry and warm conditions in the mid- to upper 80s throughout the weekend, the National Weather Service said.

"Activities people have planned for the summer next weekend are looking good," service meteorologist Bryan  Ramsey said.