Wildfire smoke may hover in Northern Illinois through Tuesday
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Wildfire smoke was expected to move into Northern Illinois as soon as Monday evening, and linger in some areas through Tuesday.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency said air quality is expected to be moderate, but readings may show higher categories at certain times.
The wildfire smoke also has an air quality alert in effect in Minneapolis.
In late June last year, smoke pouring down from the Canadian wildfires resulted in air quality so bad in Chicago that it was deemed the very worst on Earth.
The Chicago Park District moved most of its outdoor programming indoors, while some events were canceled altogether.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency explained to WCCO News that as vegetation burns, all the volatile organic compounds that are very harmful to ingest are released. Those include wood tars, gases and soot, carbon monoxide and fine particles.
Short-term inhalation of wildfire smoke could aggravate lung disease, asthma and acute bronchitis, and it can increase the risk of respiratory infections. Over time, this could lead to COPD, lung cancer and cardiovascular disease.
High concentrations of smoke could permanently damage lung tissue.