Chicago ranked no. 1 in worst air quality in the world Thursday
Posted July 31, 2025 12:39 pm
Smoke from wildfires obscures the horizon over Route 53 in Palatine on Thursday, July 31, 2025.
John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
Chicago officially had the worst air quality in the world for a few hours Thursday.
As a haze of Canadian wildfire smoke blanketed the metro area, no other major city in the world had air pollution worse than Chicago midday Thursday, according a world ranking by IQ Air, a Swiss air-technology company.
“The air quality is officially dangerous in Chicago,” says Brian Urbaszewski, director of environmental health programs at the Chicago-based Respiratory Health Association.
“It’s going to send people to the emergency room. Some people may die because of what they’re breathing,” he said.
The National Weather Service issued an air quality alert for all of Illinois through the end of Friday.
For the full story, go to chicago.suntimes.com.
A haze settles over the Fox River in East Dundee on Thursday, July 31, 2025 as an air quality alert from lingering wildfires is in effect for northern Illinois.
Paul Valade/pvalade@dailyherald.com
A person takes his dogs out for a quick break under billowing wildfire smoke off Highway 97 north of Buckinghorse River, British Columbia.
AP, May 2025
A wildfire burning northeast of Summit Lake, British Columbia, Canada.
AP, June 2025
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