As a high-pressure system continues to remain in place over the Midwest, an air quality alert has been issued due to elevated ozone levels over northeastern Illinois and northwest Indiana.
According to the National Weather Service, the alert will go into effect on Saturday night and will run through Monday night.
McHenry, Lake, Kane, DuPage, Kendall, Grundy, Cook and Will counties in Illinois are all impacted by the alert, as are Lake and Porter counties in Indiana.
Due to the area of high-pressure remaining in place, levels of pollutants and ozone will remain high throughout the coming days, and winds won’t be blowing hard enough to remove those harmful particulates from the atmosphere.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has also declared an “Air Pollution Action Day” for Sunday, the seventh-such day this year.
These alerts are declared when “weather conditions are such that widespread ozone and/or particulate levels are expected to be at or above the unhealthy (threshold) for sensitive groups category of the Air Quality Index,” according to the National Weather Service.
Active children and adults, especially those with pulmonary or respiratory diseases such as asthma, should limit prolonged outdoor activity.
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Residents are encouraged to reduce pollution levels. Actions can include raising the temperature of your thermostat, unplugging unused devices that use electricity, and limiting errands.
High temperatures in coming days are expected to remain in the low-to-mid 90s, with increasing humidity on Sunday and Monday.
