AUGUSTA — The Maine Center for Disease Control and Maine Department of Environmental Protection are warning Mainers to beware of heat and poor air quality on Thursday and Friday.

Air temperatures are expected to exceed 90 degrees in the southern and southwestern parts of the state over the next two days. The CDC warned that heat should be considered a serious health threat and that more people die every year from heat than from all other weather events combined.

Hospitalization rates and emergency department visits in Maine are significantly higher on the hottest days because of heat illness and other health conditions, such as heart disease, respiratory disease and kidney disease, that can be made worse by exposure to extreme heat, it said.

The DEP, meanwhile, is warning Mainers to also expect unhealthy air quality Thursday along the coast between Kittery and Acadia National Park. The heat, sunlight and air pollution are expected to combine to form high concentrations of ground-level ozone, which can aggravate respiratory and other health conditions.

The CDC recommends that Mainers stay cool and out of the sun, wear loose, lightweight clothing, spend time indoors and in air-conditioned spaces, drink more non-caffeineted fluids, take breaks and avoid strenuous activities.

For more information, see the Maine CDC’s Heat page: www.maine.gov/dhhs/boh/heat/index.shtml.

The DEP also recommends that Mainers reduce ozone-smog by using public transportation or carpooling, not using gas-powered lawn and garden equipment until after dusk, limiting idling of vehicles and refueling vehicles at night to reduce gasoline vapors getting in the air.

Daily air quality forecasts are available on the department’s website at www.mainedep.com or by calling (800) 223-1196.