Canadian wildfires send smoke south, triggering air quality warnings
By The Canadian Press on June 28, 2023.
Canadian wildfires are continuing to send heavy clouds of smoke south, from Northern Ontario and Quebec, through both provinces and into the U-S. The thick haze has triggered air quality warnings for Chicago, Detroit and Toronto. The trio of cities currently hold three of the top four spots on Air-I-Q’s global ranking for poor air quality. As of this morning, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates tops the list of major cities with a significant score of 411 — putting its air quality in the “Hazardous” category. Detroit ranks second, followed by Chicago, and Toronto in fourth, with an “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” rating of 159. Still, some of the smaller communities in Southern Ontario are fairing far worse, with Sarnia scoring 372, as of 3:30 a.m., a score that places the city not far behind Dubai. Air-I-Q updates its numbers hourly. As of Tuesday afternoon, there were 66 active fires in Northern Ontario, and as of this morning, 76 fires were burning across Quebec. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 28, 2023. 8-7
