Health Information Portal (HIP)

Code Red Air Quality Caution Day - Particulate Matter

Thursday, July 16, 2026, is a Code Red Air Quality Caution Day for particulate matter.

This means that some people may experience health effects from particulate matter in the air due to Canadian wildfire smoke. Members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects. Sensitive groups include people with heart or lung disease (including asthma), older adults, children, pregnant people, immunocompromised people, people experiencing homelessness, people who use drugs, people without access to air filtration, and outdoor workers.

Sensitive groups:

Check for symptoms, including trouble breathing, nausea, and dizziness. If these symptoms occur, seek medical attention as soon as possible. Avoid prolonged (greater than one hour) or intense outdoor activities. Consider rescheduling or moving activities indoors.  

Everyone else:

Reduce prolonged (greater than one hour) or intense outdoor activities. Take more breaks during outdoor activities. 

To keep indoor air clean: 

• Stay inside with doors and windows closed. 
• If you are using air conditioning, set it to recirculate mode. If your air conditioner does not have a recirculation mode, turn it off. 
• Avoid activities that create more particulate matter indoors, including: 
  • Smoking and vaping. 
  • Using gas, propane, or wood-burning stoves and furnaces. 
  • Spraying aerosol products. 
  • Frying or broiling food. 
  • Burning candles or incense. 
  • Vacuuming, unless you use a vacuum with a HEPA filter. 

If you don't have an air conditioner, staying inside with the windows closed may be dangerous in hot weather. If you are hot, go somewhere with air conditioning.

Know your risk:

To see the current air quality at the City's air quality monitors near you, please visit www.phila.gov/breathephilly.

Stay informed:

• Follow the Health Department and the Office of Emergency Management on social media.
• For the latest updates, sign up for ReadyPhiladelphia by texting READYPHILA to 888-777, or by visiting www.phila.gov/ready.
• You can also refer to the Health Department’s blog post about what’s happening at www.phila.gov/AirQualityRedPM. The blog post will be updated regularly.