Air Quality Alert continues Friday amid Lollapalooza, festivals in Chicago
Anyone heading there later should be aware that, as far as temperatures go, it will feel about the same as Thursday, but it will be hazy, and the air quality will be worse.
It's all because of the Canadian wildfires. As of Friday, Chicago is in the top five for the worst air quality index of any major city in the world.
The public is advised to take precautions, especially those sensitive to polluted conditions, by limiting their time outside and keeping windows and doors closed.
The poor air quality comes during an eventful weekend, with Lollapalooza drawing tens of thousands of people to Grant Park and Fiesta del Sol bringing out even more people in Pilsen. The cooler temperatures are also keeping people out longer.
For those attending those events or any other outdoor event around the city, Dr. Justin Fiala of Northwestern Medicine recommends adding a mask to your to-go kit.
"What we would recommend to people ultimately is that if they're trying to limit the time they might be outdoors or if they're going to be outdoors for longer periods of time, consider things like N95 or KN95 masks, which are made to filter out 95 percent of these really small particles," he said.
The Air Quality Alert will remain in effect until Friday night.
Organizers at Lollapalooza said they have six medical tents inside the park to help if anyone needs medical assistance.
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