{"id":132364,"date":"2026-07-16T21:30:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T21:30:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/132364\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T21:30:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T21:30:21","slug":"3-us-cities-report-worst-air-quality-in-the-world-from-canadian-wildfire-smoke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/132364\/","title":{"rendered":"3 US cities report worst air quality in the world from Canadian wildfire smoke"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Three US cities rank in the top 5 for worst air quality in the world as of Thursday morning. Canadian wildfire smoke will continue to be a problem through at least Saturday across the northern U.S.\u00a0<\/p>\n

America is dominating for the worst air quality in the world<\/a> as Canadian wildfire smoke moves into the upper tier of the country, causing smoky, hazy skies for millions.<\/p>\n

A recent wildfire<\/a> outbreak across western Ontario, Canada<\/a>, and Minnesota<\/a> is sending thick plumes of smoke<\/a> toward the Great Lakes<\/a> and Northeast<\/a> through Thursday.<\/p>\n

CANADIAN WILDFIRE SMOKE INVADES A DOZEN STATES, SPREADING HAZARDOUS AIR QUALITY, HAZY SKIES TO OVER 124M<\/a><\/p>\n

According to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, 69 fires are burning out of control in Ontario, mostly in the western part of the province, north of Minnesota.<\/p>\n

Canadian wildfire index
(FOX Weather)
\u00a0<\/p>\n

As of Thursday morning, three cities in the U.S.<\/a> ranked in the top five worst air quality in the world because of wildfire smoke, according to IQ Air<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Air quality across America
(FOX Weather)
\u00a01. Detroit, Michigan<\/p>\n

Detroit <\/a>ranked in first place across the whole world, according to IQ Air.<\/p>\n

As of 10 a.m. central on Thursday, Detroit reportedly had an air quality of 724, more than double the qualifying ranking for hazardous air.<\/p>\n

THESE MAJOR US CITIES ARE EXPECTED TO SEE THE WORST OF THE CANADIAN WILDFIRE SMOKE<\/a><\/p>\n

Hazardous air quality ranks 301 or higher, and has the potential to cause a health<\/a> emergency and impact everyone, not just those sensitive.<\/p>\n

\"Air <\/p>\n

Air quality at Isle Royale National Park in Michigan on Thursday morning.\u00a0<\/p>\n

(FOX Weather)<\/p>\n

The Michigan<\/a> Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy extended an air quality alert for the entire state into Friday, warning of air quality ranging from very unhealthy to hazardous.<\/p>\n

2. Minneapolis, Minnesota<\/p>\n

Minneapolis<\/a> took second place on the list.<\/p>\n

An air quality index of 289 was reported by IQ Air, as of 11 a.m. central time.<\/p>\n

WATCH: DRAMATIC VIDEO SHOWS FREIGHT TRAIN, CREW CAUGHT IN CANADIAN WILDFIRES<\/a><\/p>\n

“Very unhealthy” air quality is anything from 201 to 300, the second-highest reported index.<\/p>\n

\"MINNEAPOLIS, <\/p>\n

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – JULY 15: A general view of downtown as dense smoke effects visibility on July 15, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.\u00a0<\/p>\n

(Stephen Maturen \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

When a very unhealthy air quality is reported, outdoor<\/a> activities should be limited.<\/p>\n

The Minnesota<\/a> Pollution Control Agency issued an air quality alert through 11 a.m. CT on Friday, warning that air quality is likely to reach hazardous levels.<\/p>\n

3. Chicago, Illinois<\/p>\n

Chicago<\/a> ranks third place, also with a very unhealthy air quality of 250, according to IQ Air.<\/p>\n

US LIKELY FACES INCREASING WILDFIRE RISKS AS AMERICANS BUILD IN FIRE-PRONE AREAS, STUDY FINDS<\/a><\/p>\n

The Illinois<\/a> Environmental Protection Agency issued a Red Forecast Air Pollution Action Day for Thursday, warning people to limit time outside.<\/p>\n

\"CHICAGO, <\/p>\n

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – JULY 16: An aerial shows smoke from Canadian wildfires blanketing the city on July 16, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois.\u00a0<\/p>\n

(Scott Olson \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Air quality could reach a hazardous level as the day goes on. Toronto, Canada, ranked fourth place.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Conditions are likely to improve on Friday for many in the U.S., as the smoke pushes south and east.<\/p>\n

HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHER<\/a><\/p>\n

Wildfire smoke is expected to linger across much of the region through Saturday before another cold front clears the smoke from the eastern U.S.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Three US cities rank in the top 5 for worst air quality in the world as of Thursday…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":132365,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[7015,17,11083,2737,8432,43352,734,2758],"class_list":["post-132364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-air-quality","tag-canada","tag-illinois","tag-michigan","tag-minnesota","tag-stay22","tag-us","tag-wildfires"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132364"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132364\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/132365"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}