Toronto air quality warning ends after 4 straight days of smoky conditions
The smog that has hung above the city of Toronto as a result of wildfires in northeastern Ontario and Quebec has cleared.
Environment Canada’s air quality advisory, which has been in effect since Monday, was lifted on Friday morning.
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
That means people in the city can take a breath without the “campfire” smell that’s polluted the area for the better part of a week.
According to the federal weather agency, Toronto’s air quality is currently sitting at a level 2 on its index, which is described as “ideal air quality for outdoor activities.”
Air quality in the city reached as high as level 7 on Wednesday, which presented a “high risk” to members of the public, according to officials.
A number of school boards in the Greater Toronto Area moved outdoor activities like recess indoors due to the smoky conditions and several municipalities across the province issued fire bans, some of which remain in effect.
All week, Environment Canada has urged the public, especially those with respiratory conditions, to stay indoors to avoid the poor air quality and recommended the use of a face mask when outdoors to reduce the inhalation of smoke particulate.
At one point, Toronto’s air quality registered as the second worst in the world on the World Air Quality Index.
And although the air quality advisory has ended in Toronto, the fires in northeastern Ontario and Quebec are still active, with more 50 and 140 active fires burning respectively.
The smoke from those fires reached as far as New York earlier this week, where thick orange smog blanketed that city’s iconic skyline.
These two photos, taken a year apart, show the intensity of the smoke in New York City due the wildfires in northeastern Ontario and Quebec. (Trevor Sutton)
“There was no skyline at all. It had completely disappeared under a cloud of smoke,” Trevor Sutton, an amateur photographer from Hamilton who captured images of the conditions in New York, told CTV News Toronto in an interview.
While the smoke has cleared, Toronto’s forecast for Friday is mostly cloudy with intermittent rain throughout the day. The city will get a long overdue dose of sunshine on Saturday with temperatures reaching as high as 22 degrees Celsius.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Government proposes new policy for federally regulated employees to disconnect from work
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labour Code, so employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communication with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, this would affect roughly 500,000 employees across the country.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.