CHICAGO (WLS) — Air Quality Alerts remain in effect for the Chicago area Friday due to smoke from Canadian wildfires.
ABC7 Accuweather Meteorologist Jaisol Martinez says the smoke in the lower levels of the atmosphere will not be as dense Friday as on Thursday, but will likely remain at unhealthy and unhealthy for sensitive groups levels through the day.
The Environmental Protection Agency issued an Air Quality Alert for most of the Chicago area and Northwest Indiana through Friday.
People are being encouraged to limit their time outside. But the conditions appeared not to keep large crowds from flocking to Lollapalooza’s opening day. Others who enjoyed the lakefront noticed the haze that covered much of the city’s skyline.
The biggest concerns come with active children or adults who have any sort of respiratory diseases like asthma.
Of course there are many summer time activities that have people outside. Dr. Brady Scott, a program director from Rush University, says listening to your body is the best thing you can do.
“In a situation where maybe you’re short, feeling shortness of breath or something you’ve never felt before, you know the question is, what do you do?” Dr. Scott said. “So you can you go inside, perhaps, where it’s cooler, where the air is cleaner, and try to calm down and relax and try to reduce strenuous activity, if that’s what caused the issue. If you’re really concerned, I mean, my advice is, if you’re really concerned, and you know your body, then you might want to seek medical attention.”
Doctors say an N95 mask can help people outside, and people at home should make sure filters are fresh so that air conditioning is working at its best.
Children and adults with pulmonary or respiratory diseases, such as asthma, are asked to limit their time outside as a precaution.
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