Tuesday’s gusts from the north carried a thick blanket of smoke produced by large Canadian forest fires, raising the area’s air quality to dangerous levels. In reality, the air quality in this area was considered to be the poorest on Earth.
Chicago’s air quality dropped to the 3rd-worst in the world early on Wednesday, after Dubai and Detroit.
Chicago’s poor air quality was also a result of high levels of ozone. Until Thursday night, late at night, the National Weather Service released an Air Quality Warning. Forecasters had initially believed that things would get better by Wednesday night.
On Thursday, thunderstorms and rainfall will be possible.
As stated by airnow.gov, consumers might consider the following safety measures in the meanwhile.
Prevent outdoor exercise if you have a heart or lung condition, are elderly, a kid, or a teenager.
Everyone else: Reconsider relocating physical activities indoors or postponing them, stay away from physically demanding outside activities, and maintain outdoor activities briefly.
We should be especially worried about those who have severe respiratory conditions like asthma and COPD, but we should also be worried about everyone who has any type of airway condition. They are the ones that are most impacted by the current situation, according to Dr. Nimmi Rajagopal of the Cook County Health Department.