NORFOLK, Va. — All of Hampton Roads was placed in a Code Red air quality alert Friday after due to the ongoing smoke drifting down hundreds of miles from Canadian wildfires. Areas on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, including Northampton and Accomack counties, are in a Code Purple, which is higher risk than red.
Code Red means people should limit outdoor exposure and keep windows closed.
A Code Red AQI may induce coughing or wheezing, chest tightness, shortness of breath, burning in your nose and throat, and reduced stamina during physical activity — even among healthy people. An AQI calculator based on PM 2.5 particle concentration shows that spending four hours outdoors in the Red AQI zone is equivalent to smoking a cigarette.
Here's a full breakdown of the alerts and what they mean from AirNow.gov.
| AQI Color Code | Level of Concern | Index Value | Description |
| Green | Good | 0-50 | Air quality is satisfactory, and air pollution poses little or no risk. |
| Yellow | Moderate | 51-100 | Air quality is acceptable. However, there may be a risk for some people, particularly those who are unusually sensitive to air pollution. |
| Orange | Unhealthy for sensitive groups | 101-150 | Members of sensitive groups may experience health effects. The general public is less likely to be affected. |
| Red | Unhealthy | 151-200 | Some members of the general public may experience health effects; members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects. |
| Purple | Very unhealthy | 201-300 | Health alert: The risk of health effects is increased for everyone. |
| Maroon | Hazardous | 301-higher | Health warning of emergency conditions: everyone is more likely to be affected. |
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