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
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.