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Air pollution alert remains in effect this morning

At 6 a.m. today, the Air Quality Index in the Twin Cities registered 121, putting it in the unhealthy for sensitive groups, which include people with heart or lung disease, children and athletes. It should improve as winds pick up.

By TIM HARLOW, Star Tribune

Last update: February 25, 2008 - 10:17 AM

An air pollution advisory remains in effect this morning for the Twin Cities area along with St. Cloud, Duluth and the Brainerd Lakes area, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) said.

The advisory is likely to be canceled this afternoon as a thick blanket of fog burns off and north and northwest winds pick up and push fine particles trapped in the atmosphere out of the area.

To help reduce air pollution, the MPCA said people should limit their driving, not let their vehicles or other engines idle, turn off as many electric devices to reduce demand on (and pollution from) power plants, and postpone unnecessary fires, which add soot particles to the air.