07/16/2026
🌫️ Heads up, Chicagoland! Today’s air quality is in the Red (“Unhealthy”) category due to smoke from Canadian wildfires drifting into northern Illinois. The Illinois EPA has issued a Red Air Pollution Action Day for all six Chicago-area forecast sectors. (Weather Underground)
What does that mean?
• Air quality is unhealthy for everyone, not just those with asthma or other respiratory conditions.
• Consider limiting prolonged outdoor activities, especially strenuous exercise.
• Keep windows closed if possible and run your air conditioning or an air purifier if you have one.
• If you need to be outside for an extended period, a well-fitting N95 mask can help reduce exposure to fine smoke particles. (The Wall Street Journal)
As homeowners, we spend so much time caring for our homes—today is a good reminder to take care of the people inside them, too.
Stay safe, check on family members, neighbors, and anyone with respiratory concerns, and hopefully we’ll all be breathing easier soon. 💙