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People across north Georgia are facing dangerous heat and poor air quality today, with two separate alerts running through this evening.

The heat: A heat advisory runs from noon to 8 p.m. today for parts of northeast Georgia, including Cherokee, Stephens, Alexander, and Cleveland counties. The heat index — what the temperature actually feels like once humidity is factored in — could hit 107 degrees. That level of heat and humidity can make people sick.

Staying safe: Drink plenty of water, stay inside with air conditioning if you can, and avoid direct sun. Check on neighbors and family members, especially older adults. Never leave a child or pet in a parked car. Even on a moderately hot day, the inside of a car can reach deadly temperatures within minutes.

The air quality: A Code Orange air quality alert covers 23 counties in the Atlanta area through 5:45 p.m. today. Code Orange means the air is unhealthy for some people. Children, people with heart or lung disease, and anyone who is sensitive to ozone should cut back on time spent outside, particularly in the late afternoon and early evening when ozone levels peak.

Counties under the air quality alert: Bartow, Barrow, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, Dawson, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Gwinnett, Hall, Henry, Newton, North Fulton, Paulding, Pike, Rockdale, South Fulton, Spalding, and Walton.

More information: Current air quality conditions are available at airnow.gov.

Aw, Hell. Actually, come to think of it, Hell might be a few degrees cooler than Macon right now.
— B.T. Clark
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B.T. Clark is the Publisher of The Georgia Sun and author of Principles Are Like Pants… You Ought to Have Some. Over two decades in journalism, he has served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc., earning multiple awards along the way. His work has appeared in newspapers across the state, including The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal.