Air quality alert remains in effect for Chicago area due to Canadian wildfire smoke

CHICAGO (WLS) -- An Air Quality Alert remains in effect Friday due to smoke from Canadian wildfires.

The alert remains in effect for the area until midnight Friday.

ABC7 Accuweather Meteorologist Tracy Butler said the worst air quality will be in the morning, with particulate starting to dissipate in the afternoon.

Friday morning, air quality levels I the area at levels that are unhealthy for sensitive groups, such as people with asthma. Thursday, much of the area was at levels that were unhealthy for everyone.

A tracker with the latest updates on air quality levels for areas across the state can be found on the AirNow government website.

Who is at risk?

Children, and those with pulmonary or respiratory diseases such as asthma, are recommended to limit their time outdoors.

"If you can see it, guess what? You're breathing it in, so we have to be careful," said Dr. Juanita Mora, National Medical Spokesperson for the American Lung Association.

The warning is a result of the smoke from Canadian wildfires, bringing potentially dangerous pollutants with it to the Midwest.

"For those group of patients or people, we recommend that they avoid being outdoors right now because that can create some potential breathing problems, particularly for people who have lung disease or heart disease," said Dr. Momen Wahidi, a Northwestern Medicine Pulmonologist.

Doctors also recommended for people to wear a mask if they have to be outside as the haze lingers, and when they get home, make sure to change clothes, shower, and do whatever possible to get any pollutants off.