Today is a Code Orange air quality day. Yesterday was Code Red. When the air quality level is Code Orange, "pollution levels are harmful to children, older adults and anyone with a respiratory or heart condition." When the air quality is Code Red, as it was yesterday, it's unhealthy for
everyone and everyone should limit strenuous outdoor activities, according to the
Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.
Frankly, the idea that the outside air is unhealthy to breathe blows my mind. It's unhealthy to breathe? Imagine if DC Water announced that the water was unsafe for children to drink on multiple days during the summer, and occasionally unsafe for everyone to drink a few times a year. There would be an uproar (as there was when DC's water has excessive lead levels.) Air, like water, should
always be safe.
