Air Quality Index in Springfield soars to 'unhealthy' category
The Air Quality Index (AQI) in Springfield went from "good" to "unhealthy" in a matter of hours Tuesday.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency issued an Air Quality Action Day for Sangamon County and surrounding counties until the end of the day Wednesday.
Smoke from wildfires in Canada is moving hundreds of miles into the U.S., pushing air quality into "unhealthy" or worse categories in areas from the mid-Atlantic into the Northeast and parts of the Upper Great Lakes.
As of 3 p.m., the AQI for Springfield was 158. Anything over 100 is considered "unhealthy." It had been 46 around 10 a.m.
Related: Cooling centers around city open for relief from the heat
An Air Quality Action Day means that smoke concentrations within the region will approach or exceed unhealthy standards.
"You can actually see the lofted smoke pretty well on visible satellite imagery," said National Weather Service Meteorologist John Bumgardner. "Further north, there has been significant air quality degradation."
Both Peoria and Bloomington had AIQ numbers in the "very unhealthy" range by Tuesday mid-afternoon.
Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport in Springfield reported a seven-mile visibility.
"I think the question is with all this smoke we're seeing on satellite, how much of it is going to get brought down to the surface (later Tuesday)," he said. "There's a lot of uncertainty.
"It's mainly vulnerable populations we're concerned about."
Active children and adults, especially people with pulmonary or respiratory disease, such as asthma, should limit prolonged outdoor activities.
The American Lung Association distributed a bulletin encouraging people to keep doors, windows and fireplace dampers shut, preferably with clean air circulating through air conditioners on the recirculation setting. It also encouraged using masks with an N-95 or N-100 filter that will filter out the damaging fine particles.
The Springfield area also will be dealing with a frontal boundary the next few days which could produce some strong storms Thursday and Friday, Bumgardner said.
For Fourth of July, Springfield will be "warm, but how warm is a bit in question," Bumgardner said. That depends on how far south the front moves and depending on if another system comes up and pulls it back north
"Right now, the middle of the road of the guidance is putting us in the low 90s for highs on the Fourth with about a 30% chance of thunderstorms," he said.
Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Air quality in Springfield IL could worsen over next few days
