Chicago air quality not as severe as last week, but Canadian wildfire smoke lingers
Chicago air quality was the worst in the world again Monday morning with Canadian wildfire smoke lingering in the area.
By the 7 a.m. hour, Chicago was back to the No. 1 worst air quality in the world, with a ranking of 153 or unhealthy for all groups, according to IQAir. This was still a far cry from Thursday of last week, but nevertheless a cause for concern.
By the 9 a.m. hour, Chicago had fallen out of the top spot for the world's worst air quality, coming in fourth after Jerusalem, Kinshasa, and at the top, Lahore. But Chicago was only on one of two U.S. cities in the top 10 Monay morning, with Detroit coming in at No. 10.
On Thursday of last week, the smoke and the air quality were far worse. On Thursday afternoon, the air quality in Chicago reached as high as 753, in the "extremely hazardous" category.
The air quality in Chicago on Thursday also ranked the worst in the world, and was the worst the city has ever seen as long as records have been kept.
But even the smoke in the air on Monday was enough to have people putting on masks outside.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has extended an air pollution action day through Monday night. An Air Quality Alert is in effect through midnight Monday night.
The smoke is still the result of wildfire smoke drifting down from Canada, where the situation continues to grow. Federal officials in Canada said they are up to nearly 1,000 active fires, and roughly 11,000 square miles have now burned nationwide in Canada.
Video sent in from Canada shows crews battling flames as helicopters fly in and out of smoke-choked hills as they work to keep the fires contained.
Officials said fire activity is starting to ease in the province of Ontario, with better weather expected there in the coming days.
But for now, the smoke keeps drifting into northern American states, where people are doing what they can to protect themselves. Juan Oropuz said he took precautions at the Roscoe Village Burger Fest, and said he and his mother have respiratory issues.
"From working outside and everything like that, sometimes it's harder for me to breathe outside," Oropuz said. "I do have a mask for that reason alone, for the smoke and everything."
Health experts said anyone with asthma or heart disease, or even anyone healthy who plans to be out for a while, should take it easy, limit anything strenuous, and check with the air quality index before going out.
Meanwhile, storms are expected Monday evening into early Tuesday morning, and some could be severe.
