Multiple beaches and pools in Chicago and the northern suburbs were closed Thursday due to “very unhealthy” or even “hazardous” air quality, with the air particularly dangerous for young children as thick plumes of smoke from Canadian wildfires hovers over northern Illinois, northwest Indiana and all of Wisconsin.
In northern Cook and Lake Counties in Illinois, and Kenosha Counties in Wisconsin, air quality levels were so high they were off the scale — literally.
“I’ve been here for 15 years and I’ve never seen parts of our viewing area in that hazardous category,” Roman said. “My maps don’t even have the hazardous explanation on it, because we’ve only gotten into that ‘very unhealthy,’ purple category.”
For air quality to reach into the “hazardous” category, air quality index values on a scale of 1-500 have to be at 301 or higher. As of 11:45 a.m., air quality in Lake Forest, Illinois was at 565. Further north, in Waukegan and over the border into Wisconsin, air quality was even worse, with levels over 600.
“When the number gets above 300, everyone is impacted no matter what,” Roman said. “Very, very poor air quality, especially across our far northern counties.”…