In northern Ontario, air quality warnings have been issued by Environment Canada in connection to forest fires, but the southern part of the province is also being impacted.
Upper-level smoke from wildfires out west are making for hazy skies over southern Ontario, according to Global News meteorologist Anthony Farnell.
“The smoke here is mostly from fires burning in Saskatchewan and Manitoba but there is also some fire smoke from northwestern Ontario in there as well,” he explained Tuesday morning, noting that it is also keeping a lid on warmer weather.
“Today it’s at its thickest higher up in the atmosphere which is leading to these hazy skies and will likely affect the temperature today, keeping it a degree or so cooler than if we didn’t have any smoke.”
The issue is expected to partially clear up on Wednesday ,although that will not last for long.
“Tomorrow ahead of a cold front, air quality will start to deteriorate as some of the lower level particulates move in from those same fires,” Farnell said.
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“The air will temporarily clear out with rain Wednesday night into Thursday, but smoke will likely be back by the weekend. Smoke will be a frequent occurrence depending on which was the winds blow until a soaking rain falls out west, and that’s still at least several days away.”
This could be an ongoing issue throughout the summer as Farnell’s summer forecast calls for hot, dry weather for the Prairies throughout the summer months.
Out in Saskatchewan, there are currently 18 fires actively burning. The province has already seen 219 fires already this year, a number which is well above the fire-year average of 131.
It is estimated that more than 8,000 people have been evacuated from their homes as a result of the ongoing fires.
It is a similar situation in Manitoba, as more than 17,000 people have been forced to leave their homes since last week, including 5,000 residents of Flin Flon, which is near the border with Saskatchewan.
The province say rain on Monday was not enough to stop the 25 wildfires that were reported to be burning in the province on Sunday.
— With files from Global News and the Canadian Press
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