Manchester included in July Code Orange particle-pollution alert during smoky, hot weather

Manchester was included in a Code Orange air-quality alert for particle pollution issued by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services for July 18, 2026, as smoky and hot weather affected parts of southern New Hampshire.

The alert remained in effect until 11 p.m. EDT that day. It covered Eastern Hillsborough County, including Manchester, as well as other southern New Hampshire counties. The National Weather Service’s alert product carried the state environmental agency’s advisory.

Code Orange means air pollution may be unhealthy for sensitive groups. The advisory identified children, older adults, people with lung disease and people who are active outdoors as groups that may be more affected by particle pollution.

Outdoor-activity guidance

Officials advised people in sensitive groups to limit strenuous or prolonged outdoor activity while the alert was in effect. The advisory said even healthy people could experience mild effects under these conditions.

The warning was an air-quality advisory, not a report of confirmed health effects in Manchester. The available source material does not provide local hospital or health data connected to the episode.

Smoke and thunderstorms in the forecast

Weather forecasts associated with the July 18 episode called for patchy smoke, showers and thunderstorms. Gusty winds were also forecast, with gusts of about 40 kilometers per hour cited for the Manchester-area forecast.

Those forecast conditions described the expected weather during the event; they were not measurements of Manchester’s air quality. The source packet also does not establish a single source for the particle pollution.

The July advisory is no longer a current alert. It was identified as a recent environmental fallback in the available reporting, and the source review did not establish an Aug. 3 AQI reading for Manchester or identify an active hazardous-weather alert in the National Weather Service result retrieved.

Seasonal air-quality context

New Hampshire Public Radio reported that the state’s first Code Orange alert of 2026 had been issued in May. Its reporting included state-official context on how ozone, heat, humidity and wildfire-smoke influences can affect air quality, while emphasizing that sensitive groups face the greatest risk.

That broader context does not determine the cause of the July 18 particle-pollution episode. For residents, the practical guidance during a future Code Orange advisory remains to check the alert’s affected area and timing and reduce strenuous or extended outdoor exertion if they are in a sensitive group.