MADISON, Wis. -- Wednesday is the first Clean Air Action Day of the year for Dane County and the first in two years for the area, officials said.

An Action Day means ozone or smog levels could get to unhealthy levels for the elderly, small children and those with respiratory conditions.

During such times, county officials are asking are residents to drive less, not to mow their lawns or fill up their gas tanks until after 6 p.m., and Madison Metro bus rides are free all day, WISC-TV reported.

Some people might think making those personal changes for the day won't help, but some of those who are affected by the days the most say that it will, WISC-TV reported.

Darcy Shaw has had a lung transplant and has Chronic Pulmonary Disease, which means her lungs can also be her own personal weather forecast.

"Even if it's beautiful outside, if it's going to rain, you can usually tell that there's going to be some humidity because that's also really difficult," said Shaw.

Page Adler is also affected by COPD, and said that she knew on Tuesday she's be staying inside, predicting the Clean Air Action Day.

"It's hard to get the air in and hard to get it back out, so it takes us longer," she said. "We're short of breath because our lungs don't absorb it like it should."

Adler said that breathing on one of the Action Days can be like the difference between drinking water and drinking in a milkshake.

On the smoggy days, the request to drive less or not mow lawns might seem small, or even ignorable, but those with lung diseases said that they can't ignore the effects, WISC-TV reported.

"(They're) probably a lot more short of breath than they are on an average day," said Denise Fergusson, a respiratory therapist with Meriter Hospital. "The asthmatic may feel real wheezy, kind of like their throat is clogging up."

The amount of pollution someone's car or lawn mower is giving off might surprise people, too, WISC-TV reported.

"Since over half the pollution is created by the cars and trucks we drive, the best action people can take is to take that free Metro Transit bus ride to work," said Dave Merritt, project coordinator with the Dane County Clean Air Coalition.

Merritt said that older lawn mowers when they run for an hour can give off the same amount of pollution as driving to Milwaukee and back.

While most people might not notice the air is much different on such days, making changes could help those who can, those with breathing trouble said.

"I would like to see everybody do as requested and not do the lawn mowing, not drive as much and keep themselves protected along with everybody else," said Adler.

Currently, the state Department of Natural Resources has issued an Air Quality Watch for 25 counties in the state, which is what triggered the Clean Air Action Day in Dane County. The watch is in effect through Thursday, although it could be extended depending on the weather, WISC-TV reported.