FORECAST SUMMARY: Sunday, July 19, 2026 through Monday, July 20, 2026
Air Quality Alerts for Sunday and Monday, July 19-20, 2026
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) is issuing Air Quality Alerts for elevated levels of fine particulate (PM2.5) for Sunday and Monday, July 19-20, 2026.
PM2.5: During Sunday, pollutants are expected to range between Unhealthy (AQI Red) in the Upper Peninsula to USG (AQI Orange) in the Lower Peninsula. During Monday, conditions are expected to improve but could still reach USG (AQI Orange) levels statewide.
Ozone: 8-hour average Ozone Particulate concentrations are expected to be a mix of mostly Good (AQI Green) to Moderate (AQI Yellow).
FORECAST DISCUSSION
After a brief period of relief from smoke in the Lower Peninsula early Saturday, smoke rolled back in, as expected, later in the day. Fortunately, we did not reach the Harzardous range on the AQI scale and remained mostly Unhealthy in the Upper Peninsula. In the Lower Peninsula, we ranged from USG in the north to Moderate in the south.
Daily averages ranged from 175 ug/m3 at Marquette to 21 ug/m3 at Tecumseh. Maximum hourly impacts ranged from 288 ug/m3 at Marquette to 75 ug/m3 in the Detroit area.
Monday looks to continue a trend of slow improvement across the state. The smoke models are consistent with decreasing smoke concentrations although some smoke is still expected to linger. As such, we will maintain the lowest level of Alert (USG) throughout the state while expecting conditions to slowly improve.
Ozone could spike in certain areas if enough sun breaks through. Fortunately, ozone levels stayed low on Saturday, and models indicate that trend should continue.
Although fires continue to rage in Canada, models are leaning for the next few days to be more tolerable as we could certainly use some relief.
In the meantime, it is recommended to avoid strenuous outdoor activities, especially those with heart disease and respiratory conditions like asthma. Watch for symptoms including wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, dizziness, or burning in nose, throat, and eyes. You can help reduce air pollution by limiting activities, such as outdoor burning. Keep windows closed overnight to prevent smoke from getting indoors and, if possible, run central air conditioning with MERV-13 or higher rated filters.
EXTENDED FORECAST:
Air Quality is expected to be to range between USG and Moderate in the early half of the week. Forecasts will continue to be updated frequently, to keep track of any unexpected changes.
Forecast updated by Jim Haywood: Sunday, July 19, 2026
Next forecast update: Monday, July 20, 2026