Bernalillo County ozone alert urges residents to limit outdoor activity
Bernalillo County’s ozone alert puts outdoor work, youth sports and summer errands on pause as the hottest hours turn the air unhealthy through the afternoon.
The Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Air Quality Program issued an ozone health alert for Saturday and urged residents to cut back on time outside. Outdoor workers, parents shuttling kids to sports, seniors and people with asthma were among those affected.
The alert was announced for Saturday and was expected to last through the afternoon, when ozone levels are typically highest. People with respiratory conditions should limit outdoor activity until conditions improve, a warning that can mean moving yard work, practices and other strenuous chores indoors or to cooler parts of the day.
The Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Air Quality Program, part of the City of Albuquerque Environmental Health Department, tracks criteria pollutants across the metro area, including ozone. The program posts a daily air quality report Monday through Friday, giving residents a routine check on whether the air will be safe enough for exercise, work shifts and errands.
The city's June 2025 Ozone Advance Path Forward sets the program’s goal as remaining in attainment, or compliance, with United States Environmental Protection Agency ozone standards. The document names Allen Smith and Catalina Lehner as agency contacts.
Heat, sunlight and emissions can combine during stagnant weather to form unhealthy ozone in summer in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County. City air-quality pages also separate ozone from other hazards, with alerts for smoke, dust and blowing dust.
Youth sports, summer camps, construction work, transit use and outdoor service jobs can all be disrupted when ozone spikes in the afternoon. Schools and senior facilities may need to move children and older adults indoors, while parents and caregivers may have to decide quickly whether breathing problems, inhalers or medication make a day outside too risky.
An elevated ozone alert on Friday, July 9, 2021, ran from 12:45 p.m. to 6 p.m., and another on Wednesday, June 29, 2022, was set to expire at 10 p.m. City pages include tips to reduce ozone as the season heats up, and the Air Quality Program has begun ozone season.
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