Connections IN Health

This is Air Quality Awareness Week!

The first week of May is Air Quality Awareness Week (AQAW)! Each year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shares different air quality topics to educate people on how to “take action to prepare for and respond to events and environments with poor air quality - not just during the month of May, but year-round!” The EPA will share a new topic related to air quality each day of the week. Here is this year’s lineup:

May 4th: Wildland Fires and Smoke
May 5th: Asthma and Your Health (May is Asthma Awareness Month and May 5th is World Asthma Day this year)
May 6th: Indoor Air Quality
May 7th: Air, Animals, and Plants

AQAW is a great time to learn about air pollution and how it has trended in the past, present, and future. Overall, air quality has improved due to increased environmental regulations. In 2024, the EPA found that the total emissions from 6 criteria pollutants (ground-level ozone (O3), fine and coarse particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10, respectively), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), lead (Pb), and sulfur dioxide (SO2)) have dropped by 79% since 1970. However, as the climate changes and there are warmer and drier days, so will the likelihood of poorer air quality.

Ozone is a photochemical pollutant. It forms from a photochemical reaction between volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and NOx. These pollutants come from sources such as vehicle emissions, power plants, gas pumps, or chemical plants. Sunlight and warmer temperatures aid in this chemical reaction. Ozone is a greenhouse gas, which is good high up in the atmosphere for reducing the amount of harmful UV sun radiation from reaching the surface of the earth. It’s not good for our health when ozone is at ground-level (where we breathe).

Warmer and drier days mean better conditions for wildland fires to start and grow, producing smoke that degrades air quality. Wildland fires are any fire that occurs where there is little to no human activity or development. These include wildfires (unplanned fires started naturally or by human actions) and prescribed fires (planned fires usually ignited by fire experts with the goal of benefitting the land). Wildland fires produce smoke, which is considered PM2.5. These particles are 2.5 micrometers in diameter or smaller (roughly 30 times smaller than a strand of human hair!) These are so small that if inhaled, it can go deep into your lungs or even enter your blood stream, causing an even greater health risk. Depending on the size and intensity of a wildfire, smoke can travel thousands of miles away and pose a risk to many.

To learn how you can take action and protect yourself from poor air quality, check out each AQAW topic at https://www.epa.gov/air-quality/air-quality-awareness-week.

You can read more about air quality and climate at https://nadp.slh.wisc.edu/aqaw-2024/air-quality-and-climate/

Upper Midwest Telehealth Resource Center

Please join the UMTRC, in partnership with the OH State Office of Rural Health, from 1PM-2PM EST on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, as we host Mei Kwong, the Executive Director of the Center for Connected Health Policy, for a presentation on Medicare Telehealth Flexibilities Extension. Be sure to register, share the flyer with your networks, and come prepared to ask any questions you may have.



The presentation will discuss the following:

• Waiving geographic and originating site requirements

• Expanding practitioners eligible to furnish telehealth services

• Allowing Federally Qualified Health Centers and Rural Health Clinics to serve as distant site providers

• Delaying in-person requirements for tele-mental health services

• Allowing audio-only telehealth

Save the date for EPA’s upcoming webinar — Asthma Triggers and Flood Cleanup: Protecting Health After Major Storm Events   Save the date for EPA’s upcoming webinar — Asthma Triggers and Flood Cleanup: Protecting Health After Major Storm Events EPA sent this bulletin at 03/20/2026 11:00 AM EDT View as a webpage / Share Save the date! Asthma Triggers and Flood Cleanup: Protecting Health After Major Storm Events ...

Spring Storms and Indoor Air Quality   Spring Storms and Indoor Air Quality EPA sent this bulletin at 03/18/2026 02:00 PM EDT View as a webpage / Share Spring Storms and Indoor Air Quality Learn how to reduce moisture, mold and health risks Spring can bring us warmer temperatures and more time outdoors - but it can also bring heavy...

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USEPAIAQ/bulletins/3fc23ffGov

Winter Weather Bulletin-Indoor Air Quality Resources from the EPA

❄️ Be Prepared this Season for Winter Weather! ❄️   ❄️ Be Prepared this Season for Winter Weather! ❄️ EPA sent this bulletin at 12/30/2025 11:02 AM EST View as a webpage / Share Be Prepared this Season for Winter Weather! Winter storms and cold temperatures can create potentially dangerous conditions in and around your home, including s...

Wildfire Smoke Preparedness in Community Buildings Grant Program.

Wildfire Smoke Preparedness in Community Buildings Grant Program | US EPA To better prepare buildings for wildfire smoke, the 2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act set aside up to $4 million a new grant program for wildfire smoke preparedness in community buildings and related activities.

Excited for the 2026 Purdue Health Empowerment Summit! Join us for inspiring talks and the Purdue Pitch Engine Competition. Students, submit your 5-min video proposals by Jan 27! Let's innovate health together!