2016 Ozone Season
2016 Exceedances and Alerts
Air Quality Health Alerts are issued by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality when it is predicted that the region's ozone will reach the orange level or higher on the Air Quality Index. At the orange level, our air is considered unhealthy for sensitive groups, including children, people who are active for prolonged periods outdoors, and those with respiratory illnesses. Fortunately, since 2002, the regulatory monitors in the Alamo region have not recorded an exceedance at the next highest level, red, which would be considered unhealthy for everyone.
The following table shows the number of times, indicated in orange, that the San Antonio-New Braunfels MSA received an Ozone Action Day alert and/or exceeded the EPA's 2015 Ambient Air Quality Standard for ground-level ozone during the 2016 Ozone Season, set at 70 parts per billion (ppb).
Date Alert Level Highest 8-hour reading at a Regulatory Site
04/23/16 Orange 69 - San Antonio NW (Orange level was not reached)
05/05/16 No Alert Issued 73 - San Antonio NW
05/06/16 Orange 71 - San Antonio NW
09/28/16 No Alert Issued 71 - Calaveras Lake
74 - Camp Bullis
10/11/16 No Alert Issued 81 - Camp Bullis
72 - San Antonio NW
As the table shows, there were two Ozone Action Day Alerts issued by the TCEQ during the 2016 Ozone Season, on April 23 and May 6. There were also five days on which there was an actual exceedance during an 8-hour period at one or more of the San Antonio areas three regulatory monitors, which are located at Marshall High School (San Antonio Northwest), Camp Bullis, and Calaveras Lake. These occurred on May 5, May 6, September 28, October 2, and October 11. As apparent in the table, not every Ozone Action Day prediction results in an exceedance, and not every day in which there is an actual exceedance is predicted.