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Heavy smoke in the Quad Cities is impacting air quality. Here's what you should know

The unhealthy air quality will be around for the next couple of days.

MOLINE, Ill. — This morning when you walked out the door, not only did you see the hazy sky, but you could smell it too. That’s because the Canadian wildfire smoke has made its way back into the area causing us to have unhealthy air. We under an Air Quality Alert until 12:00 AM Thursday.

The unhealthy air is expected to continue Tuesday and Wednesday due to our northerly winds bringing in the smoke. Thursday, our air quality will drop back down to moderate due to a system making its way into the area and our winds turning southerly, pushing the wildfire smoke back north.

At the time of this publishing, our air quality is 229 PM (particulate matter) putting us in the very unhealthy air category. People with heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teens should avoid physical activities outdoors. Everyone else should avoid strenuous outdoor activities, keep outdoor activities short or reschedule them. 

Wednesday our air will in the unhealthy category, everyone is still at risk to feel its effects. People with heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teens need to reduce their exposure to the air. This can be done by avoiding strenuous outdoor activities, keeping outdoor activities short and considering moving physical activities indoors or rescheduling them.

If you do not fall into the previous categories, you still need to reduce your exposure. This can be done by choosing a less strenuous activity, like walking, so you don’t breathe as hard, shortening the amount of time you are active outdoors, or waiting to be active when air quality is better.

Credit: WQAD

If you suffer from asthma, you may experience symptoms such as coughing, wheezing, chest discomfort or a burning feeling in your lungs. Steps you can take during the next couple of days is to limit your time outside, change your activity level, listen to your body, keep quick-relief medicine on hand when you’re active outdoors, and consult with your health care provider.

If you would like to check the air quality throughout the day or for other cities across the nation, you can go here.

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