Toronto has the worst air quality in the world as of Wednesday morning, with smoke from wildfires in northwestern Ontario.
IQAir, a Swiss air quality technology company that operates the world’s largest real-time air quality information platform, ranked Canada’s largest city as the worst for air quality as of 8 a.m.
Toronto landed ahead of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Delhi, India, Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Jerusalem, Israel.
Environment Canada said in a yellow air quality warning that much of southern Ontario has been affected by the smoke, which could continue into Thursday for some areas.
“As smoke levels rise, health risks increase. Limit time outside. Consider reducing or rescheduling sports, activities and outdoor events. You may experience mild and common symptoms such as eye, nose and throat irritation, headache or a mild cough. More serious but less common symptoms include shortness of breath, chest pain or a medical emergency if you think you have a severe cough.”
“People who are most likely to be affected by wildfire smoke, including people age 65 and older, pregnant women, infants and young children, people with an existing illness or chronic health condition, and people who work outdoors, should reduce or reschedule strenuous outdoor activities and seek medical attention if they experience symptoms.”
The air quality warning comes in addition to a heat warning that has been in place since Monday.
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Maximum temperatures of 30 to 36 degrees Celsius are expected on Wednesday, with humidex values that will make it feel like 38 to 42 degrees Celsius.
The heat is expected to continue into the evening and may continue Thursday or Friday near Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.
Tuesday was the worst day during the heat wave, as humidex readings made it feel like 38 to 45 C in parts of southern Ontario.
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