The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) released a Spare the Air Alert for the Santa Clara Valley District today, prompting a schoolwide warning to reduce levels of physical activity and time spent outdoors due to poor air quality.

BAAQMD posts such warnings on days predicted to have high atmospheric ozone concentrations that exceed state and federal health regulations.

“The purpose of the alert is to let people know that air quality is poor and unhealthy,” Ralph Bormann, public relations officer for BAAQMD, said. “As some people have health challenges, letting people know is an important aspect.”

This morning, Director of Nursing Debra Nott sent out an email to teachers on all four campuses with precautions to keep students safe. Although sports competitions will proceed as planned, Nott advised coaches to modify outdoor practices by changing locations and decreasing the intensity of exercise.

“The only thing left unchanged is the games and we’re trying to move activities indoors if possible. If not, we would try to reduce the intensity of the practices,” Nott said.

Due to the notice, practices today focused more on plays and game preparation rather than on conditioning drills that require more physical strain.

“Our coach [had] us do less conditioning and running and more mental stuff to get our minds ready for the game,” junior varsity football player Mitchell Granados (10) said.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency uses the Air Quality Index (AQI), a range of values representing the quality of air based on pollutants, such as ground-level ozone, to evaluate the quality of air in different regions. Today’s AQI for the Santa Clara Valley District is 126—26 units above the highest normal value—indicating a high level of health concern for sensitive groups such as asthmatics.

“The [air quality] could trigger their asthma so severely that their inhaler might not work effectively, and they might have to seek further medical attention, urgent care or maybe even the emergency room,” Nott said. “I often caution coaches and teachers to watch out for their students with asthma.”

Sophomore Wynter Chaverst feels that Nott’s notice and the Spare the Air Day warning helps people like herself who suffer from asthma.

“I’ve struggled with asthma since I was a child, and usually when I’m outside I smell smoke and all these things that just bring my asthma to the surface,” Wynter said. “On this day, it makes me feel really happy that people actually care. I didn’t even have to use my inhaler and I barely noticed a change in air quality, but that’s probably because we’re [at school] and not elsewhere.”

While some students were unable to notice a change in air quality, others sensed a tangible difference.

“I feel like the air is generally very polluted today, and it is definitely possible that there is more toxicity in the air,” junior Kunal Bhandarkar said. “I’ve definitely noticed a difference in the temperature, too.”

The warmer climates in the past few days play a significant part in the high atmospheric ozone pressures, but the primary reason for the need for a Spare the Air Day warning is the impact of human pollution on air quality.

“The heat and sun are major factors, but the main source of the pollution that we experience today and for the last couple of days is coming from the millions of automobiles and other types of human activity,” Bormann said. “One of the aspects of Spare the Air day is to encourage people to change their behavior by having an alternative commute.”

While BAAQMD mainly advocates for environmentally-friendly modes of transportation, the district also encourages energy-efficient habits, such using non-aerosol cleaning products and “powering off” as means to reduce pollution.

“The Spare the Air concept and the work of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District is helpful because without them, people would not realize that they can have an impact on the environment,” Nott said. “Awareness is the first step to change.”