ST. LOUIS — Canadian wildfire smoke arrived in St. Louis Wednesday.
An air quality alert is in effect for the metro St. Louis area and all of Illinois through Wednesday evening. The smoke levels near the ground will likely be the highest early Wednesday morning. During the day, the smoke should become less of a concern as the thickest concentrations move away or disperse.
Those with heart and respiratory problems should limit the amount of strenuous activity outside through at least lunchtime Wednesday.
The smoke can hurt your eyes, irritate your respiratory system and worsen chronic heart and lung diseases, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Those at higher risk of getting sick from breathing wildfire smoke include older adults, pregnant women, children and people with preexisting respiratory and heart conditions.
This comes as extreme heat is also expected in St. Louis later this week. Due to the dangerous heat expected Thursday and Friday, the Weather First team has issued Weather Alerts for those days. The Heat Index will likely be over 105 on Thursday afternoon and 100 to 105 Friday afternoon.
A Heat Advisory goes into effect Wednesday through Friday for Phelps County and much of the Ozarks, central and western Missouri. An Excessive Heat Watch is in effect starting Thursday morning into Friday for parts of southeast Missouri and far southern Illinois.
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