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For a period of time this week, Chicago’s air quality ranked as the worst air quality on planet earth. This was caused by smoke billowing south from Canadian wildfires.
The IQAir database is the world’s foremost tracker of air quality. It lists the 151-200 range of AQI+ as ‘Unhealthy’ and beyond that as Very Unhealthy and Hazardous.
At 1pm on Thursday, Chicago’s air quality reached an AQI+ of 174, worse than the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dubai, and others.
Chicago’s Air Quality Ranked Worst in the World
As you can see, Minneapolis was not too far behind at 1pm yesterday. Things have only gotten worse for the City of Lakes in the rankings even though air quality has improved by 3 points.
As of 11:20am local time, Minneapolis now ranks 2nd for the worst air quality of anywhere on planet earth right now with a 160 AQI+. Chicago’s air quality has dipped to 130, which is still ‘Unhealthy,’ and Chicago currently has the 5th worst air on earth.
Canadian Wildfires
The primary driver of the air quality issues right now in Chicago are Canadian wildfires. And unfortunately for those in Canada being impacted the most by these wildfires, there is no end in sight.
Currently, there are over 200 separate wildfires burning across Canada. The latest numbers from the Natural Resources Department of Canada lists 56 uncontrolled wildfires, 49 being held, 109 controlled, and 91 fires with a modified response.
That might seem like a lot, and it is. But the 3,345 fires in Canada throughout 2025 so far this year is still fewer than the historical 10-year average of 3,721.
Even still, the expansiveness of these wildfires is unprecedented. So far this year, over 5,863,583 hectares in Canada have burned from wildfires while the 10-year historical average is 2,488,772 hectares, so well over double the historical average has burned and it is only August.
What to do?
Well, we cannot control the weather or the wind. So at this point, the best thing to do to avoid the horrific Chicago air quality and in Minnesota is to stay indoors when possible.
Chicago’s news stations are providing a stream of guidance on how to navigate the difficult weather:
The Chicago Sun-Times offered guidance to locals in a recent report. They suggest that Chicagoans “should limit time outdoors as much as possible, Urbaszewski said. Wearing an N-95 mask can help filter out some of the smoke’s dangerous particulate matter. Running an air purifier at home also helps, as does using a high quality filter in central air-conditioning units.”
At some point, the winds will shift. Chicago’s air quality will improve. The fires will abate. But until then, it is important to exercise caution.
Content shared from brobible.com.