Air quality alert in effect until Friday night

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - There's an air quality alert in effect until 11 Friday night for Hampden and Hampshire counties. The Environmental Protection Agency says the "unhealthy air quality" alert could remain in effect for most of the weekend.

Many people were outside enjoying the hot summer weather on Friday but the EPA warns, if you have asthma or any heart disease, it's better to stay indoors

When it gets hot and humid, ozone concentrations can exceed unhealthy standards and exposure to elevated ozone levels can cause breathing problems, aggravate pre-existing lung diseases and make people more vulnerable to respiratory infections.

This weekend can be dangerous because the temperature could reach 90 degrees three days in a row but many people said, they have gotten used to the extreme heat and they'll know what to do if there's another heat wave.

Norm Turnburl of Vernon, Connecticut said, “It's summer, so we take it the New England way is it comes I guess. The heat's not too bad right now. When it gets really hot, we don't take him outside, but when it's 90 degrees, we just take him to the pool.”

The EPA said, we can help reduce ozone by using public transportation or carpooling and avoiding using gasoline powered machines like lawn mowers and tractors.