AccuWeather Alert: Unhealthy air quality for most of Chicago area due to Canadian wildfire smoke

ByABC7 Chicago Digital Team WLS logo

Thursday, July 31, 2025 4:00PM

Unhealhty air quality for most of Chicago area Thursday

Illinois is not under an Air Quality Alert yet.

CHICAGO (WLS) — Chicago had the second worst air quality in the world on Thursday.

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The air quality alert comes due to Canadian wildfire smoke making its way into the area.

IQAir.com ranked Chicago the second worst in the world, just below Kinasha, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The EPA issued an Air Quality Alert for most of the Chicago area and Northwest Indiana until midnight.

The air quality issues will likely continue through Thursday and possibly into Friday.

The smoke also causing low visibility in some areas due to it coming down to the lower levels of the atmosphere, ABC7 meteorologist Jaisol Martinez said.

Children and adults with pulmonary or respiratory diseases, such as asthma, are asked to limit their time outside as a precaution.

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