Evanston residents are facing a third day of high air pollution levels and closed beaches Thursday.
But levels of pollutants from wildfires in Canada are now down from “very unhealthy” levels Tuesday and Wednesday to just “unhealthy.”
An air pollution action day is declared by the Illinois EPA when weather conditions are such that widespread ozone and or particulate levels are expected to be at or above the unhealthy for sensitive groups category of the air quality index.
Active children and adults especially people with pulmonary or respiratory disease such as asthma should limit prolonged outdoor activity on Thursday.
Forecasts from AirNow indicate that pollution levels are expected to decline somewhat on Friday, to just be hazardous for sensitive groups, and be reduced to “moderate” levels by Saturday.