Toronto air quality roughly five times worse than day prior as wildfire smoke builds

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The air quality in Toronto is currently about five times worse today than it was yesterday, as wildfire smoke continues to choke the city and surrounding area.

In an interview with CTV News, Peter Kimbell, warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada, said a measurement of PM2.5 (fine particulate matter) from west Toronto recorded this morning at 8 a.m. came in at 296 micrograms per metre cubed.

• ‘A toxic cloud of pollutants’: Torontonians urged to stay inside as smoky conditions persist. Live updates here.

“That is definitely worse than it was yesterday, because yesterday, in the afternoon, it was 62 micrograms per metre cubed. So yeah, way worse, much worse today,” he said.

Environment Canada’s Air Quality Health Index is currently listed at a Level 10, or very high risk, due to wildfire smoke in northern Ontario. An orange-level air quality warning remains in effect and individuals are encouraged to limit their time outdoors if possible.

According to IQAir, which tracks the most polluted cities across the globe, the air quality in Toronto is among the worst in the world for the second straight day.

Kimbell said air quality conditions are expected to improve marginally this afternoon. A more substantial improvement will be seen overnight.

However, he said the fresh air could be short lived as winds shift back to the southwest late Friday.

“We might get a return of some poor air quality tomorrow night and into Saturday morning before we get showers,” he said.

“Showers should improve things on Saturday, but we might have some kind of poor air quality before that happens.”