Smoky skies send air quality to record lows in southern Ontario
Wildfire smoke blowing into Ontario has been dropping air quality to lows rivalling those from the 2023 wildfire season.
Prolific smoke that’s blown across North America and beyond over the past couple of weeks will bring reduced air quality to southern Ontario through Friday.
“As smoke levels increase, health risks increase,” Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) said in its special air quality statement for the region on Thursday.
This risk includes the Greater Toronto Area, Hamilton, Ottawa, Windsor, and much of cottage country.
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Significant wildfire activity across the western half of the country has sent plumes of smoke from the Arctic to the tropics—and even across the pond toward Europe.
Most of the smoke we’ve seen of late over southern Ontario has remained elevated, contributing to hazy skies and vivid sunsets.
Rain and strong winds that pushed through the region Wednesday and Thursday helped push some of that smoke down to the surface, reducing air quality and leading to a distinct burning smell at times.
The front responsible for this pattern continues to linger across southern Ontario—forcing the smoke to linger through Friday, as well.
Special air quality statements are in effect for almost all of southern Ontario through Friday as the low-level smoke blows across the area. The poorest air quality in the Greater Toronto Area is expected to persist through Friday.
Thick smoke Thursday evening and overnight brought the Air Quality Index (AQI) for much of the region to extreme lows, rivalling the GTA's record-lowest average AQI over a 24-hour period and breaking that very record in London.
Previously, much of Ontario's record-lowest AQIs were set in June and July of 2023—Canada's most destructive wildfire season to date.
The reduced air quality could prove irritating to vulnerable people, such as those living with chronic respiratory problems.
“You may experience mild and common symptoms such as eye, nose and throat irritation, headaches or a mild cough. More serious but less common symptoms include wheezing, chest pains or severe cough,” ECCC says in its statement.
Unfortunately, the poor air quality will to linger into the weekend as a ridge of high pressure in the atmosphere will continue to suppress the smoke to lower levels.