Smoke from wildfires burning in Canada, North Dakota and Minnesota is expected to hit the Chicago area Friday, but what will that mean for the region’s air quality?
The wildfire smoke is expected to move into the Chicago area Friday, leading to hazy skies and potential air quality issues, with an air quality alert already issued for all of Wisconsin.
So what can you expected and when?
When will wildfire smoke move and when could air quality worsen?
Illinois will begin to see — and smell — smoke from the wildfires beginning Friday afternoon, NBC 5 Storm Team Meteorologist Alicia Roman said.
“Smoke really starts to fill in around 5 p.m.,” Roman said, with thick smoke expected across Chicago’s western counties, accompanied by strong wind out of the north. “By 6 p.m., parts of our area could have heavy smoke or haze.”
The smoky and hazy conditions could last through Saturday morning and into afternoon.
Where will the smoke be the worst?
The NBC 5 Storm Team’s wildfire smoke map showed a band of heavy smoke stretching from the southwest part of the state to the northeast, sweeping across multiple suburbs and up towards the border of Illinois and Wisconsin in Lake County.
Other parts of northeastern Illinois will see light to moderate wildfire smoke through the evening, Roman said.
Where is the wildfire smoke coming from?
Wildfires have led to a state of emergency in the Canadian province of Manitoba.
“This is the largest evacuation Manitoba will have seen in most peoples’ living memory,” Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said.
He said the fires have forced 17,000 people across several communities to flee.
“The military is being called for help here because of the sheer scale of the 17,000 folks that we move relatively quickly,” Kinew said. “I’m happy to say that Prime Minister Mark Carney agreed with the request.”
There are 22 active wildfires in Manitoba. Officials said firefighters from across Canada are helping to fight the flames.
Canada’s wildfire season runs May through September. Its worst-ever wildfire season was in 2023. It choked much of North America with dangerous smoke for months.
What will this mean for Chicago air quality?
The conditions could lead to poor air quality.
According to the National Weather Service, an air quality alert was issued for all of Wisconsin, including Kenosha County, beginning at 6 a.m. Friday. PM2.5 AQI is expected to reach “unhealthy” levels, especially for sensitive groups, the alert said.
“Air quality will degrade from north to south today as Canadian wildfire smoke pushes in ahead of acold front,” the alert warned. “The front will move into northeast Wisconsin Friday evening and begin clearing theair from northeast to southwest. However, this will also push smoke further south and west, and an additional Air Quality Advisory may be needed on Saturday for western areas if PM2.5 concentrations remain high enough.”
As of 11:30 a.m. Friday, Chicago’s air quality was in the yellow, or “moderate” category, with a PM2.5 of 59. If PM2.5 reaches 100, the air quality will move into the orange, or “unhealthy for sensitive age groups” category.
How to check air quality in your area
To check the air quality level in your area right now, click here.
What is an unhealthy air quality level?
AirNow said its air quality index determines the level of air pollution and the correlating health concerns.
“When AQI values are above 100, air quality is unhealthy: at first for certain sensitive groups of people, then for everyone as AQI values get higher,” the website states.
Once levels reach above 300, they enter the highest level of concern known as “hazardous.”
In total, there are six categories: green, or good; yellow, or moderate; orange, or unhealthy for sensitive groups; red, or unhealthy; purple, or very unhealthy; and maroon, or hazardous.
Here’s a breakdown of the AQI levels:
But what exactly do those numbers mean, and where do they come from?
While the numbers don’t directly represent the number of pollutants in the air (for example, an AQI of 300 doesn’t mean there are 300 pollutants in the air), the number is more of a yardstick to show pollution levels.
The higher the AQI value, the greater the level of air pollution and the greater the health concern, according to AirNow.
“For each pollutant an AQI value of 100 generally corresponds to an ambient air concentration that equals the level of the short-term national ambient air quality standard for protection of public health,” according to AirNow. “AQI values at or below 100 are generally thought of as satisfactory. When AQI values are above 100, air quality is unhealthy: at first for certain sensitive groups of people, then for everyone as AQI values get higher.”
The scale goes from 0 to 500, with 500 being the worst.
The AQI measures five major air pollutants, according to AirNow. Those are:
ground-level ozone particle pollution (also known as particulate matter, including PM2.5 and PM10 — this is what was causing Wednesday’s historically high levels) carbon monoxide sulfur dioxide nitrogen dioxide Read More Details
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