The AQI at Inner Drive Technology World Headquarters has prompted me to put my air conditioning on:
Nice that the ozone has also popped out of the healthy range, too. And this is what it looks like from 25 meters up:
I'm really hoping this 1970s-style air blows away overnight. It's really unpleasant, even if the sunset was pretty.
Chicago has an air quality alert right now as the World Air Quality Index lists us first (last?) in the world for worst air quality:
Canadian wildfire smoke pouring into Chicago has made its air quality the worst in the world Tuesday.
The World Air Quality Index ranked Chicago as the worst for air quality, with Dubai, Minneapolis, Jakarta and Doha, Indonesia rounding out the top 5. Chicago’s air is labeled an “unhealthy” 172 by the index.
The National Weather Service blamed the conditions and low visibility on the wildfire smoke that has wafted down from Canada and impacted large regions of the U.S. The service suggested limiting prolonged outdoor activities.
The problem is predicted to last through the day Tuesday.
I haven't seen air quality like this since I visited Los Angeles in the early 1980s:
A low cloud layer hung over the area until just a few minutes ago, but as you can see from this GOES-East image, we've got thick enough smoke that it almost makes now difference:
I just snapped this photo from my office door:
(I'd send up my drone but it's a bit too windy.)
People wonder what anthropogenic climate change looks like. Well, here it is.
My neighborhood, yesterday morning:
Unfortunately, tomorrow's parade might get a bit damp.
I had a lot going on this morning, so I'm only now snarfing down a Chipotle bowl. Also, I'm going to have to read these things tomorrow:
- Over 100 candidates, including a dog, will stand for election in Toronto's mayoral election on the 26th.
- Writing for Mother Jones, Ali Breland thinks the content-creator rebellion at Reddit won't stop what Corey Doctorow calls "the enshittification" of online platforms.
- Similarly, private-equity debt has killed yet another good company making good products, Insta-Pot.
- After what insiders call a deliberate campaign by New York mayor Eric Adams to strip her of power, New York City's police commissioner Keechant Sewell abruptly resigned Monday.
- Despite yesterday's rain around Chicago, the drought in Illinois has gotten worse.
- Save the firefiles!
- Tinley Park, Ill., has launched a brewery trolley that technically puts 2 new breweries on the Brews & Choos list. (I had plans to return to Banging Gavel later this summer anyway, as they're about to open the Vogt House to the public.)
- The list of people excited about the NASCAR race in downtown Chicago keeps getting shorter.
Finally, today is the 35th anniversary of the best baseball movie of all time, Bull Durham. If I had time I'd watch it tonight.
We've got a cool snap going into its third day here, and despite the 16 hours of daylight, it feels like autumn. But this happens every June. We just forget every year.
Coming on the heels of the studies saying I don't need 10,000 steps to stay healthy, I can honestly report I'll stay healthy today without getting 10,000 steps.
A persistent weather system continues to bring smoke from Canadian wildfires through the Chicago area:
You may have been wondering about the recent vibrant, reddish sunsets and hazy skyline in Chicago. What’s behind these phenomena can be traced back to a combination of particulate matter and smoke from Canadian wildfires and pollutants that create ground-level ozone.
While the red sun and milky-looking skies might give the city an otherworldly, even awe-inspiring appearance, Chicagoans — especially those with respiratory or pulmonary disorders, as well as active children and adults — should take precautions.
Because blue light has the shortest wavelength, it’s scattered the most effectively. But a high concentration of particulate matter in the air, which may travel from faraway fires carried by the wind, allows longer wavelengths of orange and red light to scatter around as well. Recent dust storms have also caused vibrant, colorful sunrises and sunsets in the state as well.
Right now at Inner Drive Technology World Headquarters, our outside weather station shows an AQI of 40, with pm2.5 the primary pollutant. So at least for now, the smoke isn't reaching the ground. But I only have to look out the window to see what NOAA sees from space:
I'm in the desert southwest for a company event. They gave me this (East) view:
Since I last visited Phoenix in 2015, they've added a light rail system. It got me from the baggage retrieval carousel at the airport to the hotel (which is by the convention center, pictured above) in 32 minutes, which I appreciate.
The first airplane they had us on to get here broke, so I got to Phoenix two hours later than planned, which I did not appreciate.
I've got nothing scheduled for the next two hours so I'm going to explore. Unlike the 39°C that baked my last visit, right now it's about 22°C and pleasant, and I need 3,000 more steps for today.
As I feared, yesterday my body really did not want to walk a full 42.2 km marathon. In fact, around 14 km, I decided to turn around and get a beer:
I maintained a great pace, though: 8'54" per kilometer (14'24" per mile). But wow, it was exhausting:
I sense a nap in my future...
Despite record temperatures in late spring, Illinois had a perfectly average August, which the state climatologist for some reason refers to as "mild:"
May kicked off summer early in Illinois with a very unusual heat wave. Then came a very warm June that had this winter lover wishing for sweater weather. Fortunately, a slightly cooler July was followed by a very mild August.
August average temperatures ranged from the low 70s [F] in northern Illinois to the high 70s in southern Illinois, within 1 degree [Fahrenheit] of normal statewide. The warmest place in the state last month was Bean Ridge in Alexander County with an average August temperature of 25.6°C. The coolest place in the state–other than my house–was Shabbona in DeKalb County with an average August temperature of 20.6°C.
Overall, the preliminary statewide average August temperature was 23.2°C, 0.1°C above the 1991–2020 average and the 58th warmest on record going back to 1895.
I'll take it. August felt just fine to me, and the forecast for this coming weekend looks pretty good, too.
Meteorological summer ends in just a few hours here in Chicago. Pity; it's been a decent one (for us; not so much for the Western US). I have a couple of things to read this afternoon while waiting for endless test sessions to complete on my work laptop:
And via Bruce Schneier, a group of local Chicago high schoolers will never give you up and never let you down.