Chicago's Air Quality Among The Worst In The World Once Again As Wildfire Smoke Returns - Block Club Chicago
Chicago is facing hazardous air quality levels due to smoke drifting from Canadian wildfires. Authorities have issued health alerts, advising sensitive groups to stay indoors and wear masks if they must go outside.
Why it matters
Recurring wildfire smoke highlights the growing impact of climate change on urban air quality and public health infrastructure.
CHICAGO — The city is once again experiencing dangerous air quality as smoke from Canadian wildfires returned to the area Saturday night.
Chicago recorded an Air Quality Index number of 145 as of Monday morning , which is considered unhealthy for sensitive groups including children, the elderly and those with underlying health conditions, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The index ranks air quality on a scale of 0-500, with higher numbers indicating more dangerous conditions.
That puts Chicago behind only Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in terms of most polluted in the world, according to IQAir .
An air quality alert is in effect for the area through Monday, according to the National Weather Service’s Chicago outpost.
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