Your Everyday SkyCast
If you are viewing a website with a SkyCast widget (such as this one), be sure to refresh the page for the most recent SkyCast.
Besides the MARC Web page, you can also find the SkyCast or Ozone Alerts:
- On Twitter
- Via email
- TV news
- In the newspaper
- Through the Workplace Partnerships
- On the web pages of many of our partners
- By calling the Air Quality Information Line at 913-383-7557
- Or by adding it to your site.
What do the SkyCast colors mean?
The SkyCast uses colors based upon the EPA’s Air Quality Index (AQI) to let you know:
- When to take steps to protect your family’s health.
- Ozone Alert day actions to help return ozone concentrations to acceptable levels.
Protect your health and reduce pollution
When an Ozone Alert is issued, cut back on or reschedule strenuous outside activities. Stay indoors in a well-ventilated or air-conditioned building. If you must be active outdoors, try to schedule activity before 10 a.m. or after 7 p.m.
Drive less. Combine errands and put off less-necessary trips for a cooler day, carpool, or use public transit. Better yet, take a leisurely walk or bike ride, preferably early in the morning or later in the evening.
Avoid fueling. Simply filling your vehicle with gasoline can lead to pollution as fumes escape and tiny drips and spills occur, and gas vapors react with heat and sunlight to form ozone. If you must fill your tank, do so after dusk. And be sure to avoid “topping off” your tank.
Postpone mowing. Lawn and garden equipment is responsible for an estimated 9 percent of the Kansas City area’s ozone-forming emissions. Postpone yard work that involves power equipment until the Ozone Alert is over.
Learn about steps you can take at home or at work to reduce your impact and improve our air.
You can also subscribe to receive SkyCast air quality forecasts for Greater Kansas City via EnviroFlash.