{"id":941366,"date":"2026-07-17T15:51:39","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T15:51:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/941366\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T15:51:39","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T15:51:39","slug":"chicago-smoke-lingers-as-aqi-remains-hazardous-but-air-quality-will-get-better-friday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/941366\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicago smoke lingers as AQI remains hazardous, but air quality will get better Friday"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chicago had the\u00a0worst air quality in the world<\/a>\u00a0yesterday and thick smoke lingered Friday morning, but the AQI is expected to get better as the day goes on.<\/p>\n

Canada wildfire smoke was still hanging over the city on Friday morning and the Air Quality Index still ranked the city at hazardous levels, over 400. But there is some encouraging news, as we expected that smoke to start moving out later on today in time for the festivals and events planned for the weekend to go on.<\/p>\n

An\u00a0Air Quality Alert<\/strong>\u00a0remains in effect for Boone, McHenry, Lake, Cook, DuPage, DeKlab, Kane, La Salle, Kendall, Will, Grundy and Winnebago counties until midnight Friday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Environmental Protection Agency told CBS News Chicago in a statement that the peak AQI values being recorded in the Chicago area this week are higher than any AQI values reported in the past since reporting started in 1999, including during the Canadian wildfire smoke episodes in the summer of 2023. The EPA said before Thursday, the highest AQI value for PM2.5 \u2014 the type of particulate matter pollution caused by wildfire smoke \u2014 that had been reported in Chicago was 223 on June 27, 2023<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Health officials are still urging people to stay inside, keep their windows closed and limit their outdoor activity until the AQI drops.<\/p>\n

“You want to minimize your exposures when air pollution is bad. So if you are healthy and active, this is not the time you want to be exercising outdoors,” said Dr. David Hill, former chair of the American Lung Association. \u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n

The hazardous air already forced beaches and outdoor pools to close Thursday, and let to the cancelation or postponement of some outdoor events. But as conditions improve, the city is expected to go back to preparing for a busy weekend.<\/p>\n

The Cubs are set to play the Minnesota Twins at Wrigley Field Friday night, Taste of River North and Colombian Fest in Humboldt Park kick off this afternoon, and other festivals including West Fest, Roscoe Village Burger Fest and Tacos y Tamales are all expected to welcome thousands of visitors. So far none have altered their plans.<\/p>\n

City officials said they continue to monitor air quality while encouraging anyone with heart or lung conditions, young children, senior citizens and other people sensitive to air quality to avoid prolonged time outside.<\/p>\n

If you have plans this weekend<\/a>, the message at the moment isn’t to cancel them but instead to stay informed. Check the air quality before you go out, consider wearing an N95 mask if you’ll be outside for long periods and if you start to feel the effects of the smoke \u2013 including dizziness and fatigue \u2013 go inside.<\/p>\n

Chicago beaches, pools and more closed again for bad AQI<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Beaches, pools shut down again for bad air quality in Chicago<\/p>\n

01:58<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Beaches and outdoor pools are closed for a second day in a row because of the poor air quality, even with improvements expected as the day goes on.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Chicago Park District also moved all outdoor programming including their summer day camps indoors for a second day. The Osaka Garden, Garfield Park Conservatory and Lincoln Park Conservatory are also closed for a second day.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Six Flags Great America and Hurricane Harbor is closed for a second day, according to their website.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Morton Arboretum is closed Friday because of the air quality as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wildfire smoke and bad air quality return to Chicago over weekend<\/p>\n

The Canadian government reported 24 new fires in the past 24 hours, which brings the total of burning locations to more than 900. More than 100 of those fires are considered “out of control” and that could mean more smoke could be blowing our way later this weekend. <\/p>\n

\"wildfire-map.jpg<\/p>\n

In Minnesota, which also sent wildfire smoke into the Chicago area, fires are spreading near the Canadian border as well, officials said. <\/p>\n

A study published this year found that long-term exposure to tiny particles from wildfire smoke contributed to an average of 24,100 deaths a year in the lower 48 states. Long-term exposure can make existing health problems worse and lead to a range of chronic and deadly issues, including respiratory illness, cardiovascular and neurological diseases, and premature death.<\/p>\n

\n

The Associated Press<\/p>\n

contributed to this report.\n <\/p>\n

\n More from CBS News\n <\/p>\n

In:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chicago had the\u00a0worst air quality in the world\u00a0yesterday and thick smoke lingered Friday morning, but the AQI is…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":941367,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5124],"tags":[12986,960,5386,1818,44123],"class_list":["post-941366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-chicago","tag-air-quality","tag-chicago","tag-il","tag-illinois","tag-wildfire-smoke"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116936121456080600","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/941366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=941366"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/941366\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/941367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=941366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=941366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=941366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}