Wildfires in Canada are causing hazy skies again across the Great Lakes area. Locations include the Mackinac Bridge in Michigan and hazy skylines in Milwaukee and Chicago. (WPBN, WTMJ, WMAQ)
Air quality levels in the Chicago area have deteriorated badly on Tuesday thanks to wildfire smoke billowing down from Canada, but one expert has put the impact of those conditions in blunt terms.
As of 1 p.m., Chicago’s Air Quality Index had risen to 228, among the worst in the world, and Dr. Ravi Kalhan, deputy division chief of pulmonary and critical care medicine at Northwestern Medicine, phrased the scope of the problem in an alarming way.
“The EPA index of 20 is equivalent to smoking one cigarette a day,” Kalhan said. “Today, the air quality index in Chicago has been approaching 200. That’s like smoking a half-a-pack of cigarettes a day.”
Kalhan says such high-intensity exposures to wildfire smoke typically only last a few days, but with increasing exposure to low air quality, there is a chance for “long-term risks” to public health when it comes to heart and lung diseases.
Those with chronic lung diseases and those with heart conditions should remain indoors, and anyone who will have prolonged time outdoors should consider wearing an N95 or KN95 mask, according to Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady.
Individuals should also consider operating air purifiers, and to keep their windows closed.
You can get the latest information on the wildfire smoke here.
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