If the forecast for blazing temperatures and clear skies today comes true, it will strain the area’s air quality.

The reason: ozone.

“It’s been a concern for a few years,” said Richard Ziesenis, environmental health director for the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department. “The main concern with it is from a health standpoint. When the ozone levels are high, it can aggravate health problems – like asthma.”

High ozone levels mainly put at risk children under 14, people over 65, pregnant women, outdoor exercisers and people with lung and heart ailments. Ozone also contributes to the development of diseases including bronchitis, emphysema and possibly cancer, according to health officials.

Dr. Warren Frick, a local allergist, said ozone is a trigger for asthma. But he said he isn’t aware of ozone contributing to any major health issues at this time.

“It’s probably an issue allergists in bigger cities see more of,” he said.

A colorless, odorless gas known for shielding the earth from harmful U-V rays, ozone also is the main ingredient in smog. Ozone can form near the earth’s surface when pollutants from cars, power plants, chemical plants and other sources emit pollutants. The pollutants then chemically react to sunlight and heat, forming ozone.

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The 6News meteorology team reported that the temperature will soar to 98 degrees today and there will be clear skies. Temperatures are expected to be in the high 90s the rest of the week.

The upcoming heatwave likely will increase ozone levels in the area, Ziesenis said.

The local health department monitors the ozone level and air quality with equipment set up at the Lawrence Municipal Airport. The equipment has been in place since 2003.

Ziesenis said the Lawrence area is in compliance with permissible ozone levels set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

“We’re not in as critical shape as Kansas City,” he said. “We don’t have quite the problem they have. But it is an issue surfacing here.”

The Mid-America Regional Council in Kansas City, Mo., works with a meteorology company to track weather patterns and alert residents in metropolitan Kansas City to ozone concerns.

MARC issued five ozone alerts in June, said Jody Ladd Craig, spokeswoman for MARC. That is more than normal for that month.

“It’s usually July and August – our hottest months – that produce more ozone,” she said.

Last year, ozone levels weren’t a serious problem because of an unseasonably cool summer.

The organization issued one ozone alert last summer and that was in September, Craig said.

But Craig and Ziesenis expect more problems this summer.

“We’re starting to see more normal summertime temperatures,” Ziesenis said. “We can’t rely on cool summers in Kansas every year. What we have now is considered normal.”