CHICAGO — The smoke from the wildfires in Canada have left parts of the United States under an air quality alert.
Some smoke and haze is expected in Chicago and parts of Illinois on Friday, but most of the heavier smoke is expected to continue in the east and as far south as North Carolina.
An air quality action day was issued on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for all of Indiana due to the smoke.
According to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, there are high levels of fine particles in Friday’s forecast.
IDEM said the particles include microscopic dust, soot and liquid that can settle into the lungs and can be hard to exhale.
The National Weather Service said people with chronic respiratory illnesses should limit their time outdoors.
Air quality alerts have been issued in 24 states.
The sun rises over the lower Manhattan skyline as seen from Jersey City, N.J., Thursday, June 8, 2023. Intense Canadian wildfires are blanketing the northeastern U.S. in a dystopian haze, turning the air acrid, the sky yellowish gray and prompting warnings for vulnerable populations to stay inside. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) 
Haze blankets the United States Marine Corps War Memorial as the sun rises, Thursday, June 8, 2023, in Arlington, Va. Smoke from Canadian wildfires is pouring into the U.S. East Coast and Midwest and covering the capitals of both nations in an unhealthy haze. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) 
Haze blankets the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, Thursday, June 8, 2023, as seen from Arlington, Va. Smoke from Canadian wildfires is pouring into the U.S. East Coast and Midwest and covering the capitals of both nations in an unhealthy haze. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) 
The sun rises behind the Washington Monument and a thick layer of smoke, Thursday, June 8, 2023, in Washington. Intense Canadian wildfires are blanketing the northeastern U.S. in a dystopian haze, turning the air acrid, the sky yellowish gray and prompting warnings for vulnerable populations to stay inside. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) 
Joggers trot along the Reflecting Pool with the sun rising over the Washington Memorial and a thick layer of smoke, Thursday, June 8, 2023, in Washington. Intense Canadian wildfires are blanketing the northeastern U.S. in a dystopian haze, turning the air acrid, the sky yellowish gray and prompting warnings for vulnerable populations to stay inside. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) 
Members of the Marine Corps honor color guard rehearse near the Reflecting Pool with the sun rising over a thick layer of smoke, Thursday, June 8, 2023, in Washington. Intense Canadian wildfires are blanketing the northeastern U.S. in a dystopian haze, turning the air acrid, the sky yellowish gray and prompting warnings for vulnerable populations to stay inside. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) 
The sun is obscured by haze caused by northern wildfires as horses are bathed ahead of the Belmont Stakes horse race, Thursday, June 8, 2023, at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y. Training was cancelled for the day due to poor air quality. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) 
Smoke from Canadian wildfires obscures the view of the U.S. Capitol Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) 
With the Washington Monument in the background and a thick layer of smoke, Marine Corps honor color guard rehearse, Thursday, June 8, 2023, in Washington. Intense Canadian wildfires are blanketing the northeastern U.S. in a dystopian haze, turning the air acrid, the sky yellowish gray and prompting warnings for vulnerable populations to stay inside. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) 
With the Washington Monument in the background and a thick layer of smoke, Marine Corps honor color guard rehearse, Thursday, June 8, 2023, in Washington. Intense Canadian wildfires are blanketing the northeastern U.S. in a dystopian haze, turning the air acrid, the sky yellowish gray and prompting warnings for vulnerable populations to stay inside. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) 
A person in a protective face mask walks past the skyline in Philadelphia shrouded in haze, Thursday, June 8, 2023. Intense Canadian wildfires are blanketing the northeastern U.S. in a dystopian haze, turning the air acrid, the sky yellowish gray and prompting warnings for vulnerable populations to stay inside. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) 
The Brooklyn Bridge, One World Trade Center and the lower Manhattan skyline are visible in New York on Thursday, June 8, 2023. With weather systems expected to hardly budge, the smoky blanket billowing across the U.S. and Canada from wildfires in Quebec and Nova Scotia should persist into Thursday and possibly the weekend. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey) 
MTA employee Shanita Hancle, left, hands out masks to commuters at the entrance to a subway station in New York, Thursday, June 8, 2023. Air pollution from Canadian wildfires are cloaking the northeastern U.S. for a second day. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) 
The Pennsylvania Capitol, seen from across the Susquehanna River, is shrouded in a haze from intense Canadian wildfires blanketing the northeastern U.S., prompting warnings for vulnerable populations to stay inside, Thursday, June 8, 2023, in Harrisburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Marc Levy)
Earlier this week, New York City and parts of the northeast, people were urged to stay indoors because of the hazardous conditions.
Millions of residents could see that for themselves Thursday. The conditions sent asthma sufferers to hospitals, delayed flights, postponed ballgames and even pushed back a White House Pride Month celebration. The fires sent plumes of fine particulate matter as far away as North Carolina and northern Europe and parked clumps of air rated unhealthy or worse over the heavily populated Eastern Seaboard.
At points this week, air quality in places including New York, the nation’s most populous city, nearly hit the top of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s air-pollution scale. Local officials urged people to stay indoors as much as possible and wear face masks when they venture out.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
