Excessive heat brings bad air

(WTNH) -- Excessive heat can make the ER a busy place, but News 8 has got your back with information about what makes the heat so dangerous and how you can stay safe.

What's in the air is more intense when hot, hazy, humid weather rolls in.

"With these scenarios we tend to have an atmosphere that's very stagnant and with high pressure," Storm Team 8 Meteorologist Gil Simmons said. "All of the air is sinking in the atmosphere and that keeps a lot of the pollutants that would typically spread through the atmosphere right at ground level and that's the air we breathe."

The forecast calls for unbearable stagnant air in the next couple of days. You can't escape it at the beach either. At times, poor air quality is higher along the shoreline. Simmons tells us that's because when water cools the air, it traps more pollutants.

It's a public health concern. The ozone is a real, real issue. Maureen Lillis heads up the West Haven Department of Public Health. She advises staying indoors as much as possible, preferably in air conditioning.

"Any air that's filled with moisture causes breathing difficulties," Lillis explained, "and when you have asthma or COPD, it creates even more of a problem because your respiratory system is compromised."

People like Tracy Green, who's asthmatic, have to cope with the summer weather and what comes along with it.

"You feel wheezing first thing in the morning, once you get up and it lasts all the way into the evening," Green said.

So stay vigilant and watch out for others who may need a helping hand.