CBS News Chicago
Air quality plummets as Canadian wildfire smoke chokes the skies
CBS Chicago reports the region woke up to an acrid haze as smoke pushed the AQI into the low 250s Thursday morning, placing the city well into the very unhealthy category. The outlet notes the alert extends across the city and northern suburbs, with Waukegan crossing into the hazardous, maroon-level tier of the index. Forecasters on the station's weather team said this smoke event could rival the historic haze Chicago saw in June 2023.
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FOX 32 Chicago
City may have just hit its worst air quality on record
FOX 32's meteorology team says Chicago likely set a new record for its worst air quality since tracking began, topping the previous record of roughly 175 set on June 27, 2023. The station reports Loop-area readings hit roughly 220 Thursday, while conditions were even more severe in the northern suburbs, where Gurnee reached 446 and Zion climbed to 558 — both considered extremely dangerous.
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Weather Underground
PM2.5 named the dominant pollutant behind today's haze
Weather Underground's tracker put Chicago's index at 225 today, labeling conditions "Very Unhealthy" and flagging fine particulate matter, PM2.5, as the dominant pollutant driving the reading. The site cautions that active people of all ages exercising or working vigorously outdoors face increased risk while the smoke lingers.
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IQAir
Chicago ranked among the world's most polluted cities
Global air monitor IQAir logged Chicago's air quality as "very unhealthy" and placed it among the worst-ranked cities worldwide this morning. The service notes summertime temperature inversions off Lake Michigan can trap pollution close to the ground, a pattern it says has repeatedly pushed the city's July readings higher in recent years.
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