National Weather Service officials issued an air quality alert set to expire at midnight Saturday for the Chicago and surrounding areas. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency determined an air pollution action day due to widespread ozone and particulate levels being at or above what is considered safe for unhealthy groups.

An Illinois Air Pollution Action Day is declared when weather conditions are such that widespread ozone and or particulate levels are expected to be at or above the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (USG) category of the Air Quality Index for all or almost all of Illinois.

Good afternoon, Chicago. Air quality alerts issued today in Illinois because of Canadian wildfire smoke marked the latest bout in an increasingly common summer occurrence. The alert covers 34 Illinois counties designated as having unhealthy air for all residents.