The poor air quality continues to prevail in Illinois as Canadian wildfire smoke migrates south into the U.S.
As a result, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has issued an Air Pollution Action Day for Friday, Aug. 1.
Here’s what we know.
Central Illinois AQI forecast
Listed below are the Air Quality Indexes for the major cities in central Illinois, as of 10 a.m. on Friday:
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Bloomington and Normal: 154 (Unhealthy)
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Springfield: 154 (Unhealthy)
The AQI is expected to improve to the moderate category Aug. 2, according to AirNow.gov.
Chicago Air Quality
Here’s the AQI for the Chicago metro area, as of 10 a.m. on Friday:
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North and west suburbs of Chicago: 159 (Unhealthy)
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South and west suburbs of Chicago: 159 (Unhealthy)
Air Pollution Action Day in Illinois
The IEPA issued an Air Pollution Action Day for Aug. 1 through the evening. Visibility may be reduced at times, and sensitive groups should take proper precautions.
Air Pollution Action Days are declared when widespread ozone and/or particulate levels are expected to be at or above the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (USG) category of the AQI.
Illinois residents are urged to reduce pollution levels.
When will air quality improve in Illinois?
The air quality is expected to improve by Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.
Smoke map
Hannah Hudnall covers trending news for the USA TODAY Network and Midwest Connect. Send her a news tip at HHudnall@Gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Why is the air quality so bad today? Illinois AQI forecast, smoke map
