Air quality alert for Minnesota extended until 3 p.m. Tuesday

An extended air quality alert now covers all of Minnesota, with the metro area experiencing some of the most dangerous conditions.

July 30, 2021 at 8:37PM
Traffic moved along the I-35W on Friday, with downtown Minneapolis enveloped by a smoky haze, as seen from the E. 46th Street overpass. (Aaron Lavinsky, Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Minnesota's air quality is about to get a lot worse.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has extended an air quality alert that was to end Friday afternoon until 3 p.m. Tuesday for the entire state. The worst of it will arrive on Saturday morning, with a "very unhealthy" air forecast for the Twin Cities metro area stretching in a broad area north to the Canadian border. The rest of the state is also under alerts of "unhealthy" or "unhealthy for sensitive groups."

The agency warned people with health sensitivities to stay indoors and everyone else to avoid prolonged exertion outside.

Even before the extended alert, the smoke coming from fires burning in Canada had already led to the worst air quality Minnesota has ever had on record.

Alex Chhith • 612-673-4759

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about the writer

Alex Chhith

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Alex Chhith is a general assignment reporter for the Star Tribune.

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