The Illinois EPA announced an “Air Pollution Action Day” for the thirteenth time this year. Those announcements are issued when air quality is at or above an unhealthy level for sensitive groups, and the first half of 2023 has had more than any year in the last decade. So what should we do when there’s an advisory, and how does poor air quality affect our mental and physical health? We spoke to Zac Adelman, executive director of the Lake Michigan Air Directors Consortium, Stacy Montgomery, researcher with Northwestern’s Climate Change Research Group, Steve Mosakowski, director of respiratory care at RUSH university medical center, and Gina Ramirez, Midwest outreach manager at Natural Resources Defense Council.