Soot pollution trapped over much of the urban Midwest led Illinois officials Wednesday to issue their first-ever wintertime alert for dirty air, and they cautioned the health warnings could last through the weekend.
Environmental officials from Minnesota to Pennsylvania are advising senior citizens and people with respiratory ailments to limit their outdoor activities because rising levels of soot can trigger a variety of complications. Even healthy adults and children are cautioned against heavy physical activity outdoors.
Though sunny skies and light winds promise a relatively balmy day Thursday, the same weather conditions are preventing microscopic forms of air pollution from dispersing in the atmosphere.
Soot alerts are a recent addition to a nationwide warning system for dirty air. Smog warnings have become routine in summer, when ozone hovers over Chicago and other urban areas.
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