Did you know that high heat can make the air quality worse?

Here’s how it works.

There are these things called nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds, which are produced by cars and power plants, for example.

When that bakes in the sun and heat, it creates ground-level ozone, which is essentially pollution.

“Ozone is a lung irritant,” Meteorologist Rob Shackelford explains. “It's like sunburn for your lungs.”

(MORE: How air pollution affects you)

It can cause coughing, asthma attacks, chest pain, shortness of breath and eye and throat irritation.

(We’re talking ground-level ozone; not to be confused with the ozone in the upper atmosphere — that’s great and helps block UV radiation.)

Often, we won’t notice this ground-level ozone because wind keeps everything moving.

A heat dome is when it gets particularly dangerous. This is a ridge of high pressure where warm, stagnant air often dwells.

“This ground-level ozone gets stuck on the ground, and it doesn't know where to go,” Shackelford says. “It has no mechanism to drive it away.”

(MORE: Bad air quality? Here’s what you can do)

Climate change is worsening things. We're seeing hotter and hotter seasons, which means we have more of the right conditions to create ground-level ozone.

So what can you do? 

The best thing to start with is being aware of when the air quality is bad. Click on the Breathing link on The Weather Channel app to see your Air Quality Index. 

Limit outdoor exertion in the afternoon and evening hours when ozone peaks.

Sensitive groups should stay indoors with the windows closed and the AC running. 

Children, older people, people with asthma, heart and lung conditions and those who work outside are at the highest risk for effects.

And don't add to the problem, too! Skip yard work and mowing with gas-powered tools — but electrical mowers are good to go.

Content writer Ada Wood enjoys exploring the stories that science and climate teach us about our natural world and how it influences the way we live in it.