In the News
July 31, 2023
Earlier this summer, Chicago was clocking in the worst air quality in the world as a result of wildfire smoke drifting down from Canada.
The air quality index that day was 175. Since then, Chicago’s air quality has continually been poor, generating the most air pollution advisories since 2012.
As climate change continues to exacerbate the severity and frequency of wildfires around the country and the globe, monitoring local air pollution could become a more regular part of day-to-day life. But what information exactly should you be paying attention to?
Christa Hasenkopf is the director of the Air Quality Life Index (AQLI), an air quality research project at the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute. The AQLI translates air quality measurements into impact on life expectancy — or how much longer someone would live if the World Health Organization’s guidelines for air quality were met.
She said that in the world of research, air quality and pollution can sometimes fly under the radar.
“The idea of the Air Quality Life Index was to capture that impact in a really easy-to-understand metric that you can see across the world, and at a pretty granular level,” she said.
The AQLI specifically measures particulate matter — written as PM 2.5.
“This is the kind of [pollutant] that has been bothering folks across the U.S. this summer, including Chicago, from the wildfires,” Hasenkopf said. “Particulate matter is essentially just stuff floating in the air that you get when you burn [things].”
The 2.5 in PM 2.5 signifies the tiniest type of particulate matter, which is why it’s problematic. This type of particle is small enough to evade “natural defenses” to the human body, traveling straight to your lungs.
Although there aren’t any illnesses that someone can immediately develop from inhaling PM 2.5s from wildfires, they can still take a serious toll on your health down the line, leading to respiratory and cardiovascular issues — all of which impacts life expectancy.
According to the EPA, air quality that exceeds 35 µg/m3 (the way that the measurement of PM 2.5 is written) is considered unhealthy for sensitive groups.
“I’m not a health scientist. But I can mention the things that I would do to protect myself on a highly polluted day,” Hasenkopf said. She stated that closing windows, using HEPA air filters and avoiding outdoor activities as much as possible are best practices, particularly if you have any respiratory or cardiovascular conditions that might make you more sensitive to air pollution. N95 masks that fit correctly can also be helpful for filtering air if you do have to go outside.