SACRAMENTO, California — Smoke from major Northern California wildfires has made its way to the Sacramento region, bringing unhealthy air conditions that prompted county air officials to issue a weeklong warning starting Monday.
As many online results are showing this kind of information there appeared to be a conflict about the accurate information on air quality in Sacramento. At least one prominent source appears to have data that is either incorrect, incomplete or misleading.
Some locals โ including meteorologists โ have taken to Twitter to call out Googleโs search result widget for air quality in the city, saying the readings have been โseriously inaccurateโ for several days.
BreezoMeter.com gives a source for Googleโs top result and it ranked Sacramentoโs air quality as โgoodโ as of 7 a.m. Tuesday, which means marking the conditions as โideal air quality for outdoor activities.โ
Matters were apparently much worse Monday evening. BreezoMeterโs readings were still marking conditions as โgood,โ meaning air quality index readings below 50. Meanwhile, multiple other air quality maps showed the AQI was closer to the mid- to high-200s.
Tuesdayโs AQI reading was 49 by 7 a.m. according to BreezoMeter. But this mark appears to be a morning measurement, not a daily forecast. The AirNow forecast for Tuesday also showed good conditions in the morning, but the forecast calls for a high AQI of 133. AQI forecasts for Auburn, Folsom, and Placerville were all above 150.
A warning is issued through Friday, advising residents to avoid or limit any kind of outdoor activates due to the influx of smoke.
โOlder adults, people with chronic diseases and young children are most at risk and should avoid outside activities if they see or smell smoke,โ Sacramento County Public Health Officer Dr. Olivia Kasirye said in Mondayโs statement from the air district.