Air quality expected to improve for Thunder Bay, but worsen for surrounding areas this week

Air quality expected to improve for Thunder Bay, but worsen for surrounding areas this week

Northwestern Ontario city's air quality index could drop by Sunday afternoon

Nearly a dozen communities across northern Ontario are currently under an orange air quality warning, say provincial authorities.

According to the provincial government, air quality warnings are jointly issued by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, and Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). Under the alert program, there are two types of warnings: yellow and orange.

An orange warning is issued when the air quality health index (AQHI) is slated to, or already has reached, 10+.

As of Sunday, the communities with orange air quality alerts in effect are:

“An orange air quality warning is that it’s not safe to be outdoors regardless of whether you kind of fit the bill of a general population, or the vulnerable population,” said Monica Vaswani, a warning preparedness meteorologist with the ECCC.

A number of communities throughout Ontario are under a yellow air quality warning, which signals an area has reached an AQHI of 7 or higher.

The area classified under a yellow air quality warning “goes all the way from basically Elliot Lake north to McKenna and then west to Armstrong, and just over Lake Michigan, Vaswani said.

“But it is not hazardous to the entire population as if you’re in those areas.”

Better conditions in some areas, caution for others

Vaswani said areas currently under an orange air quality warning could see some reprieve, with the smoke expected to reach its worst point on Sunday before seeing the regions AQHI expected to decrease by the afternoon.

“The downside, though, is that as that smoke plume moves out of Thunder Bay, it might start to impact communities further north and east of them along the Superior shorelines, especially for tomorrow [Monday],” Vaswani said.

She added that areas including Marathon, Wawa, Pagwa and Sault Ste. Marie could see air quality worsen by Monday.

A chance of thunderstorms on Sunday and the early part of the week throughout parts of northwestern Ontario, including Thunder Bay, could aid in this reprieve as well. However, Vaswani warned that the thunderstorms could bring other issues, such as 100 km/h winds and large hail, along with the risk of additional fires caused by lightning strikes.

“There’s a potential for additional fires to develop beyond today once we get into tomorrow. Tuesday we do have some rain, maybe with minimal thunderstorm activity. So Tuesday is probably our best bet thus far to get some rain without the risk of severe thunderstorms.”

Better air leads to more services

With better air quality expected the Thunder Bay area in the coming days, the city has announced a number of services are expected to resume this week.

They include regularly scheduled garbage pickups for residential areas, along with collection from businesses and multi-residential units on Sunday and Monday.

City crews are also expected to resume outdoor work with enhanced health and safety measures.

The Splash Pads at County Park, Franklin Street, North End Park and the Northwood Playfield are reopened Sunday, while golf courses could reopen as air quality improves.

However, outdoor pools, beaches and the Marina Park/Prince Arthur’s Landing splash pad will remain closed.

Liam Baker is a journalist for CBC Ottawa. He also reports and produces stories for CBC Windsor, and on Inuit Nunangat for CBC Nunavut. Previously, he's reported for CBC Yukon, CBC Thunder Bay, and CBC Toronto's Enterprise unit. You can reach him at liam.baker@cbc.ca