CONCORD, N.H.  — Southeast New Hampshire and coastal Maine are part of poor air quality alert for Thursday with the hot, summary weather sticking around a bit.

The Environmental Protection Agency and state air quality forecasters are predicting areas of unhealthy air quality in parts of New England. They suggest that people limit their strenuous outdoor activity and help reduce emissions by choosing to carpool, use public transportation and limit the use of electricity during peak electrical use hours.

The problem is ground-level ozone, which forms when volatile organic compounds and oxides of nitrogen interact in the presence of strong sunshine.