Air Quality Guidelines
Air Quality Monitoring for School-Related Outdoor Activities
Check the current and forecasted air quality status for our area online at Airnow.gov. Or during wildfire smoke, go to wasmoke.blogspot.com for status updates. (This is the only monitoring site that is to be used by the Yakima School District.)
Decisions for outdoor activity are made by the Superintendent for recess (or outdoor events during the school day) and building athletic directors for after-school outdoor sports/activity practice or contests. Sensitive groups or students experiencing adverse symptoms should see the school nurse during school and their coach/supervisor if after school. The school nurse has masks available for students and staff.
If you have questions or need further clarification, please get in touch with the Superintendent's office at 509-573-7001.
Air Quality Guide for School & Child Care Activities
Wildfire smoke, measured as PM 2.5, can seriously affect children’s health. These public health recommendations to protect children from PM2.5 are designed for school activities and can be applied to child care, before/after school programs, camp, and sports programs for children (18 years and younger) by considering the duration of outdoor activities.
Guidance For School Closure During Wildfire Smoke
The Washington state departments of Health and Ecology have been asked about when to cancel outdoor events and activities or close schools due to wildfire smoke impacts on public health. Decisions about closures, relocations, or evacuations are made at the local level in Washington. This document provides guidance for local health officers about air concentrations of smoke, measured as fine particulate matter (PM2.5), considered a health threat.
Washington Smoke Information Blog (wasmoke.blogspot.com)
We recommend the WA Smoke Blog as the best one-stop shop of information about wildfires, smoke, forecasts, and health information. The blog map has the benefit of including outside PurpleAir sensor measurements for localized information in addition to regulatory monitors. On this map, a correction factor for wildfire smoke and appropriate averaging time is applied to the PurpleAir measurements to improve validity.
Additional Resources
- Smoke From Fires | Washington State Department of Health
- Improving Ventilation and Indoor Air Quality - Recommendations for Schools and Buildings with Mechanical Ventilation
- Recommendations for wildfire smoke and COVID-19
- Washington Air Quality Guide for Particle Pollution
- Yakima Clean Air website- air quality conditions
- Air Quality Index- background information on what the air quality index (AQI) measures