Slight improvement to Windsor-Essex air quality expected heading into weekend
Air quality continues to be a concern across many parts of Canada, but the air quality index is dropping in Windsor-Essex.
On Thursday, the air quality index posted on the government of Canada website listed Windsor-Essex between four and six, down from a peak of eight Wednesday.
“An air quality index of eight is not good for anybody despite your medical history or medical circumstances. One should not be exposed to that kind of air for a prolonged period of time,” said CTV Windsor meteorologist Gary Archibald, noting it’s not nearly as visibly bad as Toronto or New York, but still not very good.
“The fine particulate matter, that ash that's in the air, the smoke filled air will continue to penetrate our airspace because of the wind setup,” said Archibald.
A full slate of events is planned for this weekend, including LaSalle’s annual Strawberry Festival, Ribs and Ragtime in Amherstburg, Meet a Machine in Windsor and the city’s birthday celebrations. As of Thursday, the mayor’s office indicates the celebrations are still a go, but they’re monitoring the situation and will adjust accordingly if necessary.
According to the local health unit, when air quality is poor people — especially those more vulnerable — should avoid prolonged outdoor activities.
”Minimize the amount of time you’re out and what you’re doing,” Dr. John Granton of the University Health Network told CTV News. “You shouldn’t be exercising and running if the air quality index is extremely high and you should be indoors as much as possible.”
People with lung and heart conditions are most affected by air pollution.
But even healthy people can struggle to breathe when the index is high.
If you were planning on having a camp fire in your back yard this weekend, think again. The municipalities of Amherstburg and Chatham-Kent have issued an open burn ban due to dry conditions and the poor air quality.
While the wildfires in Quebec rage on it’s believed relief from the haze locally is on the horizon in the coming days.
“I'm anticipating that we'll see a bit of improvement, but still be in that air quality range of a seven or eight,” said Archibald. “So we're not out of the woods just yet.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.