Wildfire smoke created hazy conditions in downtown Kitchener, Ont., on June 7, 2023. Environment Canada issued a special air quality statement for the region due to high levels of air pollution that day. People in southern Ontario should start preparing now for the potential of smoke hanging over this part of the province during the upcoming wildfire season, one researcher says.
With wildfires will come warnings about PM 2.5, which is the particulate matter in smoke, Li said. The small particles have a diameter equal to or smaller than 2.5 micrometres. During some of the smokiest days in 2023, southern Ontario saw 250 micrograms per metre cube, "even close to 300 microgram per meter cube.""Particles are so small, so they can remain suspended in air for a very long time. And then with the right or maybe the wrong wind condition, they can travel a very long distance. And that's why the pollutant concentration is high even if the wildfire is not in our region," Li said.
"We didn't have much of a snow pack out here in Ontario, especially in southern Ontario, and that means our ground is not as protected and it's not getting as much moisture," she told CBC News. She added that in 2023, wildfires got an early start in the western part of the country because of a "very hot and intense start to the spring."Temperatures are expected to be milder than usual in Ontario this spring, she said.
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