Great Lakes Air Quality Alert: Canadian Wildfire Smoke

Is the air quality good in the Great Lakes Region?

As of July 14, 2025, there is poor air quality due to wildfire smoke across many U.S. states and Canadian provinces, mostly in the Great Lakes region.

Smoke is contributing to poor air quality ranging from the “moderate” to “unhealthy” range in most of Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Air quality is also being affected in parts of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, and New York.

In Canada, poor air quality is unhealthy in major cities across Ontario and Quebec, as well as parts of Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Which major cities are most affected by the poor air quality today?

Major cities affected by wildfire smoke include:

Chicago, Illinois
Duluth, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Montreal, Quebec
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Toronto, Ontario

As of the morning of July 14, Toronto, Canada was the third most polluted major city in the world. Chicago, Illinois was the 11th. For a more detailed look, see Toronto’s air quality map.

Ranked list of most polluted major cities.

Ranked list of most polluted major cities on Monday morning. Source: IQAir.

What is causing poor air quality in the Great Lakes Region?

Widespread wildfires across northern Canada and shifting wind direction has sent smoke southeast towards the Great Lakes Region and the St. Lawrence River.

Are there any alerts in place?

The National Weather Service has issued Air quality alerts for all of Michigan and Wisconsin, western New York, northern Minnesota, and northeastern Indiana (1). There is also a poor air quality warning in Toronto, Ontario and most of central Ontario (2).

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