The historic episode of smog due to the forest fires that Montreal went through on Sunday and Monday is officially over. The situation had improved in the afternoon, but Montreal Public Health has warned that it is “preparing for other episodes” of the genre this summer.
Around 3:45 p.m., Environment Canada ended its “smog warning”. The metropolis is still under a “violent storm watch”, since the weather conditions are conducive to the production of “strong gusts, large hail and torrential rain”.
The main reason for this improvement in air quality during the day is a change in the direction of the winds in the last hours which now push the smoke from the fires and its fine particles further north-east of the province, a indicated Jean-Philippe Bégin, meteorologist at Environment Canada.
“In the next few hours, we will see an improvement. The smog warnings are likely to be lifted during the afternoon,” he confirmed in the morning.
Showers received in the morning in Montreal and on the North Shore also helped to “clean” the air, by capturing fine particles from the forest fires that have been burning for several weeks now in the north of the province, at a rarely seen rhythm.
However, the wind will only “move” the problem elsewhere, in particular in the Témiscamingue region, where the quality of the air is likely to suffer in the coming hours, underlined Jean-Philippe Bégin.
According to the IQair site, which lists the air quality in the main cities of the world, the Quebec metropolis was Sunday at the forefront of the sad list of cities with the most polluted air in the world. Sunday morning, the air quality index in downtown Montreal had reached 407. It is considered bad from 51. On Monday, Montreal was still at the top of the ranking, just behind Jakarta, in Indonesia, and Kuwait City, Kuwait.
Despite everything, the City of Montreal announced Monday morning the reopening of its outdoor sports facilities and the resumption of its outdoor cultural activities at noon “following the most recent recommendations from Public Health concerning air quality. on Montreal territory.
Swimming pools and paddling pools will also be able to resume their regular activities. “Although the situation is changing positively, the air quality on the territory of Montreal remains suboptimal and the population is still invited to stay indoors as much as possible and to be on the lookout for the recommendations of the Direction régionale de public health”, however warns the City.
Other episodes in sight?
“This summer, we have a fairly exceptional fire situation, so we are preparing for other episodes”, concedes for her part the DD Chérine Zaïm, medical consultant in environmental health at the Montreal Regional Public Health Department (DRSP). “When that happens, the main thing is to follow the instructions: we move our activities indoors, we close the air exchangers and we avoid physical activities,” she says.
In times of smog, the instructions are “particularly important” for vulnerable people, who have heart problems among others, but also for children and the elderly, says the DD Zaim. “Overall, you have to listen well to your body and take care of yourself,” she illustrates.
Sunday was really an exceptional situation with a very high concentration of fine particles. The cough, the irritated eyes, all these symptoms, it was very obvious in the population.
DD Chérine Zaïm, environmental health consultant at the DRSP
The Montreal DRSP also recalls that fabric masks are not useful for filtering fine particles from forest fires. “The N95, that said, is a good way to protect yourself, especially during very high concentrations as we saw in Abitibi, for example,” concludes the medical advisor.
Yes or no for fireworks?
Discussions would also be underway regarding the International des Feux Loto-Québec, in the current context. Public Health did not wish to comment on the subject on Monday. In mid-June, The Press reported that these large pyrotechnic shows alone were responsible for 5 of the 33 days of poor air quality in 2022 in Montreal, or 15% of the total.
La Ronde, responsible for the event, indicated on Monday that it was “very sensitive to the concerns raised with regard to the fireworks, whether it is about environmental impact or the link which is established between active forest fires”. . “We are evaluating the situation with the City of Montreal and are awaiting directives from Public Health to find out if our first pyromusical show this Thursday can take place,” said La Ronde spokesperson Carole Bricault.
“We share the will of the population to take full advantage of this event, but the safety of the public and the environment is essential and we will adjust the course of this event according to the directives of public health”, as for him argued. Mayor Valérie Plante’s cabinet.