ALABAMA (WHNT) — The Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) issued an Air Quality Alert that will be in effect Saturday, June 10 for Madison and Morgan Counties.

An Air Quality Alert was initially issued on Friday after “moderate” air quality days before. Particulate matter can hover over an area if the ingredients are favorable in the atmosphere.

Typically, a high-pressure overhead can cause an inversion which is a warmer layer above the surface that can help trap pollutants at the surface.

A level orange alert means “unhealthy for sensitive groups” so children, the elderly and those with breathing problems should limit exposure outdoors.

You can also check the air quality where you live as it changes at Airnow.gov, with data that is updated twice every hour.

You can also help air quality by limiting your driving, refraining from using gasoline-powered lawn equipment and conserving electricity by running your AC at a higher temperature.

As long as high pressure is over our area and we have a north or northeast component to the wind, we’ll continue to see the haze from the smoke from the wildfires over Canada. A pattern change will come by the back half of the weekend, which should help alleviate the haze and air quality issues.