Air quality alert for northern Illinois extended through Saturday

Buildings in Chicago are obscured by haze from the Canadian wildfires on July 17, 2026. (Antonio Perez/baiduhai)

A woman wearing a face mask makes her way through Bartelme Park in Chicago's West Loop, on the second day of wildfire smoke affecting air quality, July 17, 2026. (Antonio Perez/baiduhai)

Buildings in Chicago's downtown are obscured by haze along Jackson Boulevard from the Canadian wildfires on July 17, 2026. (Antonio Perez/baiduhai)

A woman and child ride a bike with masks on West North Avenue in Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood as dangerous levels of wildfire smoke from Canada and Minnesota blanket the area Thursday July 16, 2026. (Armando L. Sanchez/baiduhai)

The sun peeks through the haze from wildfire smoke over the Chicago skyline and the Chicago River on July 16, 2026. (E. Jason Wambsgans/baiduhai/)

People walk near North LaSalle Street in Chicago's Loop as dangerous levels of wildfire smoke from Canada and Minnesota blanket the area on July 16, 2026. (Armando L. Sanchez/baiduhai)

Haze from the Minnesota and Canada wildfires envelops the city on July 16, 2026, in Chicago. In the foreground is the Spirit of Progress statue. (Stacey Wescott/baiduhai)

Haze alters the light of the setting sun over a tree line on the near West side of Chicago as wildfire smoke from Canada and Minnesota moves in the area, July 16, 2026. (Chris Sweda/baiduhai)

A protected person rides an electric scooter past the Shedd Aquarium in the Loop on July 16, 2026. Air quality in Chicago was at unhealthy levels due to smoke from wildfire in Canada and Minnesota. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)

A person stands at the Washington/Wabash CTA station "L" platform in the Loop while dangerous levels of wildfire smoke from Canada and Minnesota blanket the area on July 16, 2026. (Armando L. Sanchez/baiduhai)

While passing by an image featuring a young Michael Jordan in Chicago’s Greektown neighborhood, a person uses a mask to protect from wildfire smoke that has carried into the area from Canada and Minnesota, July 16, 2026. (Chris Sweda/baiduhai)

Light from the setting sun is seen reflected in the windows of the Willis Tower in Chicago as wildfire smoke from Canada and Minnesota envelops the area, July 16, 2026. (Chris Sweda/baiduhai)

The Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago's Millennium Park, rear, is shrouded in a haze caused by wildfires in Minnesota and Canada on July 16, 2026. (Terrence Antonio James/baiduhai)

Randolph Street in the Loop is shrouded in wildfire smoke from Minnesota and Canada, July 16, 2026, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/baiduhai)

People walk near North LaSalle Street in the Loop as dangerous levels of wildfire smoke from Canada and Minnesota blanket the area, July 16, 2026. (Armando L. Sanchez/baiduhai)

People cross North Michigan Avenue at East Randolph Street on July 16, 2026, in Chicago. The city was shrouded in wildfire smoke from Minnesota and Canada. (John J. Kim/baiduhai)

The skyline is obscured as people walk near the Shedd Aquarium in the Loop on July 16, 2026. Air quality in the city of Chicago was at unhealthy levels due to smoke from the Canadian wildfires. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)

People wait to cross North LaSalle Street in Chicago's Loop as dangerous levels of wildfire smoke from Canada and Minnesota blanket the area, July 16, 2026. (Armando L. Sanchez/baiduhai)

A view of the skyline along Interstate 290 as a thick haze from wildfires in Canada and Minnesota settles over Chicago the morning of July 16, 2026. (Peter Tsai/baiduhai)

A CTA Purple Line train moves through the Loop on July 16, 2026, in Chicago. The city was shrouded in wildfire smoke from Minnesota and Canada. (John J. Kim/baiduhai)

John Bridges and his son, John Jr., 6, wear face masks while visiting Cloud Gate on July 16, 2026, in Chicago. The city was shrouded in wildfire smoke from Minnesota and Canada. (John J. Kim/baiduhai)

People walk along Washington Street near Wells Street in Chicago as a haze caused by wildfires in Minnesota and Canada hangs over the city on July 16, 2026. (Terrence Antonio James/baiduhai)

Haze caused by wildfire smoke from Canada and Minnesota hangs over the West Side of Chicago and obscures visibility on July 16, 2026, in the Austin neighborhood. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

A CTA “L” Green Line train runs through the haze in the Austin neighborhood on Chicago's West Side as wildfire smoke from Canada and Minnesota settles in the area Thursday, July 16, 2026. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

A view of the sun through the morning haze and clouds as wildfire smoke from Canada and Minnesota rolls into the area on July 16, 2026, in Chicago. (Peter Tsai/baiduhai)

A man waiting for a bus holds a towel over his nose as others wear face masks on North Michigan Avenue on July 16, 2026, in Chicago. The city was shrouded in wildfire smoke from Minnesota and Canada. (John J. Kim/baiduhai)

Haze from the Minnesota and Canada wildfires makes the Chicago skyline invisible from about 3 miles north on the Kennedy Expressway on July 16, 2026. (Stacey Wescott/baiduhai)

Plumes of smoke from the Camp Fire hang in the air on Moose Lake as multiple wildfires burning in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness prompted its closure and evacuation on July 14, 2026, in Ely, Minnesota. (Anthony Soufflé/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

From left, Hunter Collins, of Atlanta, Josie Maier, of the South Loop, and Vince Ombao, of the South Loop, apply sunscreen before going into the lake at Promontory Point in Hyde Park on July 16, 2026. According to Swiss air quality company IQAir, as of 11 a.m. Chicago was the third-most-polluted major city in the world, behind Detroit and Minneapolis. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)

Vehicles drive along Interstate 290 as dangerous levels of wildfire smoke from Canada and Minnesota blanket the area, July 16, 2026, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/baiduhai)

The D'Aquila family, visiting from Hamden, Connecticut, wear face masks while walking on North Michigan Avenue, July 16, 2026, in Chicago. The city was shrouded in wildfire smoke from Minnesota and Canada. (John J. Kim/baiduhai)

Bikers ride along the lakeshore near 31st Street Beach during a haze-filled morning from the Canadian wildfires in Chicago on July 16, 2026. (Peter Tsai/baiduhai)

Masked pedestrians maneuver Chicago's Loop as dangerous levels of wildfire smoke from Canada and Minnesota blanket the area, July 16, 2026. (Armando L. Sanchez/baiduhai)

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