Ontario's air quality 100 times better this year compared to last year
Folks in southern Ontario are breathing a little easier this Canada Day compared to last year, when wildfire smoke flooded the region.
This Canada Day long weekend was an unbelievable improvement compared to last year when dense wildfire smoke brought record-breakingly poor air quality all across Southern Ontario.
Did you notice the skyline popping this Canada Day, with an almost high definition quality? No, you’re not seeing things, air quality can quite literally not be much better than it is right now.
Look at this remarkable comparison.
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On Canada Day 2024, air quality readings hovered below 20 µg/m3 for PM2.5, a value classified as excellent air quality by all metrics. Although with fireworks, some localized degradation in air quality can be expected.
Some of those values shot above 200 µg/m3 a year ago in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), 10 times worse than the air quality this long weekend. On June 28, 2023 at 2 pm air quality bottomed out at 241 µg/m3 of fine particulate matter.
Ottawa was even worse, briefly touching 307 µg/m3 on June 25, 2023.
Where are we on Canada Day 2024? A pristine 3 µg/m3., as seen from the satellite imagery above. That’s over 100 times better than the worst air quality last June.
It’s some of the best air quality in the world, so celebrate that this Canada Day.
Thumbnail courtesy of Pexels.
Stay tuned to The Weather Network for more forecast updates in southern Ontario.
