was at a 185 as of Thursday morning, placing it in the “unhealthy” range. That means older adults, people with heart or lung disease and children and teens should avoid strenuous outdoor activities.
But officials believe the Canadian wildfires aren’t likely to die down anytime soon, with nothing in the forecast that looks likely to change. But Avol added that while the haze of wildfire smoke provides a visual cue to stay inside, there can be hidden dangers of breathing in harmful pollutants such as ozone even when the sky looks clear. He also noted there are air chemistry changes that can happen downwind of wildfire smoke, which may have additional and less well-understood impacts on the body.for parts of Illinois , Indiana, Iowa and Missouri until 5 p.m.