If you are along the coast of Maine today, you can either breathe deep or hold your breath.

Ground-level ozone concentrations are expected to reach unhealthful levels in coastal sections of the state today, according to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

Meteorologists from the National Weather Service office in Caribou disagree, however. The office, which covers Down East sections of the coast, has forecasted southerly winds of 10 to 20 mph, which meteorologists say will sweep away ozone concentrations.

“It’s hard to get ozone concentrations to become high when you have low-level winds that strong to move it along,” Victor Nouhan, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said.

Nouhan also said air temperatures affect ozone levels.

“Ozone concentrations start building up during prolonged heat waves, and we haven’t had prolonged heat,” he said.

Despite these conflicting predictions, the DEP issued a 24-hour ozone forecast with a notice of unhealthy levels for sensitive groups of people. This warning level is more serious than advisories of moderate levels of ozone, but not as serious as advisories of unhealthy conditions for all people and alerts of very unhealthy conditions.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued reports Monday predicting unhealthful air quality throughout New England and coastal Maine.

If ozone levels do reach hazardous levels today, they could cause problems for those with respiratory ailments.

Exposure to elevated ozone levels can lead to a variety of respiratory problems, including serious breathing problems and aggravated asthma. People with pre-existing lung diseases may be more susceptible to respiratory infection.

Ground-level ozone is formed by chemical reactions between sunlight, nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds. Man-made sources of these compounds include automobile emissions and industry and consumer products like paints and cleaners.

The DEP urges people to help reduce emissions that contribute to the formation of ozone by conserving electricity, carpooling or taking public transportation, refueling cars after dusk and limiting the use of paints and cleaning products.

For more information, call the DEP’s air quality hot line at (800) 223-1196.