The National Weather Service has opted to extend an air quality alert in the Chicago area for another day.
According to its latest updates, the NWS extended the alert in McHenry, Lake, Kane, DuPage, Cook, Kendall, Grundy and Will counties in Illinois. Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Newton and Jasper counties in Indiana are also under an air quality alert through Monday morning at midnight.
During such alerts, residents are urged to take steps to protect themselves and to reduce the amount of air pollution their activities generate.
“People with respiratory diseases such as asthma should limit prolonged outdoor exposure,” the NWS said. The NWS also recommended the following:
- Walking, biking, carpooling or using public transportation
- Avoiding the drive-thru
- Combining errands into one trip
- Avoiding refueling your vehicle after 7 p.m.
- Turning off your engine when idle for more than 30 seconds
- Turning off lights to conserve energy
- Setting the air conditioner to 75 degrees or above
The Chicago area has been under an air quality alert since Thursday, with wildfire smoke from Canada drifting down across the entire upper Midwest.
In fact, at one point on Thursday the city of Chicago had the worst air quality in the entire world, according to IQAir, with the city’s Air Quality Index skyrocketing because of smoke making its way toward the surface.
That smoke has continued to persist through the weekend as northerly winds continue to keep the Chicago area cool, causing brilliantly red sunsets and hazy skies for several days running.
AirNow provides a tool for residents to search their ZIP code to see what their forecasted air quality is, both in real time and for the days ahead.
For a more granular look, the website also offers information on different measurement stations around the area in real-time, allowing residents to track air quality in areas near their homes.