Despite improvements overnight with the smoke, an orange-level air quality warning by Environment Canada remains in place Friday across the Greater Toronto Area.
Drifting smoke from forest fires in northwestern Ontario are still resulting in “very poor air quality” and reduce visibility Friday morning, said the national weather agency’s warning update at 6 a.m.
While “temporary” relief is expected in the afternoon, Environment Canada said heavy smoke will return Friday night and into the weekend.
Toronto air quality may ‘temporarily improve’ Friday, but conditions could persist into weekend
Meteorologist Rob Kuhn said he “wouldn’t put any bets” on major improvements in the air quality today. He expects the smoke and an air quality health index around 10 to remain for most of Friday and into Saturday.
“This is not as good as we’d hoped yesterday,” he said, adding cleaner air “tried to come in from the northeast briefly” overnight before the smoke returned.
Eastern regions of the GTA, like Oshawa, are catching a break from the smoke for the time being, but he said there will likely be a drop in air quality as “smoke-laden air” drifts eastward tonight.
Kuhn said showers with the chance of a thunderstorm on Saturday could “help sweep out some of the smoke” temporarily.
But there’s bigger hopes that a strong cold front forecast will sweep through the region Saturday night into Sunday to “get rid of a lot of the smoke,” he said.
But Kuhn warns that we might not be entirely done with the smoke this summer as wildfires continue to burn in the province.
Concentrations of fine particulate matter, or PM 2.5, in the atmosphere have lowered compared to Thursday, according to the province. PM 2.5 are airborne particles that are less than 2.5 micrometres in diameter, smaller than a strand of human hair, and can travel deep into your lungs.
As of 7 a.m. Friday, Toronto has about 39 to 170 micrograms/cubic metre (μg/m³) of PM 2.5 in the air. That’s an improvement compared to the nearly 300 μg/m³ measured Thursday morning.
Concentrations of the pollutant are higher in Oakville at 225 μg/m³ and Mississauga at 199 μg/m³, but lower in Oshawa at 23 μg/m³.
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The province’s air quality health index as of 6 a.m. Friday is at 10+, or very high risk, for Oakville, Mississauga and parts of Toronto. Meanwhile, Toronto East has come down to 6, or moderate risk, Toronto Downtown to 8, or high risk, and Oshawa to 3, or low risk.
Toronto ranked fourth on Friday morning in a list of the world’s most polluted cities, according to a global ranking by IQAir, a Swiss air quality technology company.
Environment Canada warned residents may experience symptoms including headaches, eye and throat irritation, wheezing or chest pains.
“During heavy smoke conditions, everyone’s health is at risk regardless of their age or health status,” it said, adding people should reschedule or cancel any outdoor activities.
Seniors, pregnant people, young children, people who work outdoors and those with existing health conditions are more likely to be impacted by the wildfire smoke. They’re advised to avoid going outdoors and to seek medical attention if experiencing symptoms.
Toronto air quality may ‘temporarily improve’ Friday, but conditions could persist into weekend
Toronto the orange: Wildfire smoke leaves city under dirty sky with no relief likely until Friday
The City of Toronto said it would reopen outdoor services if the orange air quality warning is changed. Until then, outdoor pools will remain closed and lifeguards will be cleared from beaches.
Toronto has six “cleaner air spaces” open at city hall, Metro Hall, North York Civic Centre, Scarborough Civic Centre, York Civic Centre and East York Civic Centre.
