Air quality will deteriorate in several regions of southern Quebec, until Wednesday, due to the forest fires ravaging the west of the country. “It’s fine particles that come from very far away that are affecting us right now,” says Peter Kimbell, meteorologist at Environment Canada.
“Elevated concentrations of fine particles are expected and will result in poor air quality,” described the press release issued by Environment Canada at noon.
Environment Canada forecasts poor air quality in the regions of metropolitan Montreal, Laval, Gatineau, Laurentides, Haute-Gatineau, Lièvre and Papineau until Tuesday.
SCREENSHOT FROM ENVIRONMENT CANADA WEBSITE
The plume of smoke that affects Quebec comes from western Canada
The smog episode will also affect the east of the province by Wednesday, warns Peter Kimbell.
According to the IQ Air site, the air quality index (AQI) was 124 in Montreal on Monday. Air quality is considered good when the AQI is below 32.
“One might think that the poor air quality that is announced is, as before, from the forest fires in Nord-du-Québec, but this is not the case”, underlines Peter Kimbell.
This time, the fine particles come from active wildfires in northern Alberta, northeastern British Columbia and southern Northwest Territories. The plume of smoke passes “through Montana, through South Dakota, and then back up towards us”, explains Peter Kimbell.
The concentration of fine particles in the air is around 60 µg/m3 in the regions affected by the smog episode. At such a concentration, the air quality will be decidedly bad, “but much less bad than what we saw last month”, underlines Peter Kimbell.
At this level, smog poses no immediate danger to the general population.
“Smog mainly affects asthmatic children and people with respiratory or heart disease,” details the press release from Environment Canada. It is therefore recommended that they avoid strenuous physical activity outdoors until the smog warning is lifted. »
Pollution from forest fires can release soot particles and debris called PM2.5 into the air. These debris can enter the body, when inhaled, and penetrate deep into the lungs and bloodstream. These fine particles represent the greatest health risk associated with forest fires.
As of Monday, 79 fires are active in Quebec, according to the Society for the Protection of Forests Against Fire (SOPFEU). Nearly 900 wildfires are currently burning in Canada, reports an article by the New York Times.