Smoke From Canadian Wildfires Brings Unhealthy Air to Large Swaths of the Midwest

A haze of Canadian wildfire smoke blankets the Chicago area and creates poor air quality, on July 31, 2025. Ashlee Rezin/Chicago Sun-Times via AP

Smoke from Canadian wildfires hovered over several Midwestern states Saturday, bringing warnings of unhealthy air for at least the third day.

Air quality alerts were in effect in Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, as well as eastern Nebraska and parts of Indiana and Illinois. Forecasters said the smoky skies would remain for much of the day.