Illinois EPA

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has extended the Areawide Air Pollution Action Day through Monday, July 20th. This is in addition to the ongoing Areawide Air Pollution Action Day in effect today July 19th.

The current and main concern into tomorrow is smoke/particulates at levels that are negatively impacting air quality across northern and central portions of Illinois (all forecast sectors except Metro-East St. Louis). For the rest of today and into tomorrow, areas both inside and outside of the Action Day coverage area may experience smoke to a varying degree and duration. There is some guidance that suggests some overnight to early morning periods of smoke moving towards parts of southern IL including the Metro-East AQI forecast area.

Note: Daily AQI, AQI forecasts, and Action Day criteria for particulates are based on 24-hour averages, not the hourly NowCast AQI.

[Thursday July 16, 2026 11:15 AM CDT]

Wildfire smoke continues to fill in across northern IL and northwest IN and is causing very poor air quality in addition to reduced visibilities. If driving make sure to slow down and use your low beams so others can see you.

The Illinois EPA has recommendations on how to stay safe during periods of very poor air quality which can be found in this PDF (https://document.airnow.gov/air-quality-guide-for-particle-pollution.pdf). Make sure you also check the latest air quality information and forecasts on AirNow.gov!