Prairie wildfires having air quality impact on several provinces
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Poor air quality fuelled by wildfires burning across the Prairies left a large swath of the country enveloped in a haze for another day.
Parts of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador were experiencing poor air quality and reduced visibility due to the wildfires, a situation expected to continue through Sunday.
Much of southern Ontario was under an air quality statement on Thursday and Friday that lifted early Saturday morning.
Environment Canada meteorologist Jean-Philippe Bégin says there's some good news — a low pressure system passing through the Prairies, currently in northern Saskatchewan and expected to move into Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario by Monday, is expected to bring precipitation for areas hit by out-of-control forest fires.
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That system is not expected to bring much relief in northern Alberta, however, where there is little rain in the forecast.
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In Montreal, public health officials were advising residents to keep windows closed, reduce outdoor activities and limit non-essential travel.
While the entire population is affected by air quality, the most vulnerable include children under the age of 5, pregnant women, the elderly and anyone suffering from heart or respiratory issues.
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Health Matters: Many parts of Canada affected by wildfire smoke
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CTV News
3 hours ago
- CTV News
Wildfires in the Prairies having impact on air quality in several provinces
A man walks along the St. Lawrence River in front of the Old Port of Montreal on Friday, June 6, 2025. Smoke from the wildfires in the Canadian Prairies is causing poor air quality and reduced visibility in the Greater Montreal region. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi MONTREAL — MONTREAL — Poor air quality fuelled by wildfires burning across the Prairies left a large swath of the country enveloped in a haze again on Saturday, but Environment Canada said the situation is expected to improve over the weekend. Parts of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador were experiencing poor air quality and reduced visibility due to the wildfires, a situation expected to continue through Sunday. Environment Canada meteorologist Jean-Philippe Bégin said there's some good news — a low pressure system passing through the Prairies, currently in northern Saskatchewan and expected to move into Manitoba and northwestern Ontario by Monday, is expected to bring precipitation for areas hit by out-of-control forest fires. That system is not expected to bring much relief in northern Alberta, however, where there is little rain in the forecast. On Saturday, the agency's air quality index listed some cities like Toronto and Montreal as having a moderate to high risk. The index measures air quality in relation to quality of health and rates it between one and 10. Much of Ontario remained under special air quality statements or warnings on Saturday. Southern Ontario, which had been under an air quality statement on Thursday and Friday, saw that lifted early Saturday morning. For Quebec, a weak cold front should help matters in eastern Quebec, including the province's North Shore. The situation should improve into Sunday in Montreal and in southern Quebec. A high concentration of fine particles in the air can be harmful to health and the air quality situation is far worse in areas where fires are burning, Bégin said. 'In no region of Quebec do we have concentrations above 100 micrograms per cubic metre,' Bégin said. 'Near the fires in northwestern Ontario, northern Manitoba, northern Saskatchewan, northern Alberta, we have in some places, definitely more than 100 micrograms per cubic metre and we have up to 600 micrograms per cubic metre, so the air quality is quite dangerous there.' In Montreal, public health officials were advising residents to keep windows closed, reduce outdoor activities and limit non-essential travel. While the entire population is affected by air quality, the most vulnerable include children under the age of five, pregnant women, the elderly and anyone suffering from heart or respiratory issues. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 7, 2025. — with files from Coralie Laplante in Montreal and Rianna Lim in Toronto. Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press
CBC
5 hours ago
- CBC
Wildfires in the Prairies affecting air quality across Canada
Poor air quality fuelled by wildfires burning across the Prairies left a large swath of the country enveloped in a haze again on Saturday, but Environment Canada said the situation is expected to improve over the weekend. Parts of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador were experiencing poor air quality and reduced visibility due to the wildfires, a situation expected to continue through Sunday. Environment Canada meteorologist Jean-Philippe Bégin said there's some good news: A low-pressure system passing through the Prairies — currently in northern Saskatchewan and expected to move into Manitoba and northwestern Ontario by Monday — is expected to bring precipitation for areas hit by out-of-control forest fires. That system is not expected to bring much relief in northern Alberta, however, where there is little rain in the forecast. On Saturday, the agency's air quality index listed some cities like Toronto and Montreal as having a moderate to high risk. The index, which measures air quality in relation to quality of health, rates it between one and 10. Much of Ontario remained under special air quality statements or warnings on Saturday. Southern Ontario, which had been under an air quality statement on Thursday and Friday, saw that lifted early Saturday morning. For Quebec, a weak cold front should help matters in eastern Quebec, including the province's North Shore. The situation should improve into Sunday in Montreal and in southern Quebec. A high concentration of fine particles in the air can be harmful to health and the air quality situation is far worse in areas where fires are burning, Bégin said. "In no region of Quebec do we have concentrations above 100 micrograms per cubic metre," he said. "Near the fires in northwestern Ontario, northern Manitoba, northern Saskatchewan, northern Alberta, we have in some places, definitely more than 100 micrograms per cubic metre, and we have up to 600 micrograms per cubic metre, so the air quality is quite dangerous there." In Montreal, public health officials were advising residents to keep windows closed, reduce outdoor activities and limit non-essential travel. While the entire population is affected by air quality, the most vulnerable include children under the age of five, pregnant women, the elderly and anyone suffering from heart or respiratory issues.
Global News
6 hours ago
- Global News
Cooler weather, light rain helping some provinces in fight against wildfires
The Saskatchewan government is boosting support it's giving to wildfire evacuees, while officials say light rain and cooler temperatures this weekend could help keep some of the province's larger fires in check. Bryan Chartrand with the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency told a news conference in Prince Albert, Sask., on Saturday that it's been mostly 'status quo' with the large fires in the past 24 hours. In addition to more favourable weather, Chartrand says there haven't been any new lightning-caused fires, and he says fires have also reached natural barriers such as lakes which have stopped their growth. The province announced Saturday a hike in financial assistance for those registered with the SPSA, raising the amount provided to the head of household to $40 per day, up from $20, and additional household members will get $20 per day, up from $10. Story continues below advertisement Marlo Pritchard with the SPSA told the news conference that the government raised the amounts because it's been a number of years since the supports have been increased. The province says in its latest statement there are 24 active wildfires in Saskatchewan and 33 communities have evacuated. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'While we are hoping to soon have some individuals and families repatriated back to their communities, we know that some will have to continue to be evacuated as we deal with ensuring safe cleanup of these devastating wildfires,' Saskatchewan Public Safety Minister Tim McLeod said in a statement. 'Frontline crews and multiple agencies are working as quickly as possible to do so.' Pritchard said the new support for evacuees, which he said remains between 10,000 and 15,000 people, is in addition to the $15 million the government is already supplying to the Canadian Red Cross for evacuee assistance. He told Saturday's news conference that people should not bring donations to hotels where evacuees are staying, noting the government will announce details, possibly early next week, on how people in Saskatchewan can help people displaced by fires. 0:28 Province of Manitoba providing financial support for wildfire evacuees Environment Canada said Saturday a low pressure system passing through the Prairies, currently in northern Saskatchewan and expected to move into Manitoba and northwestern Ontario by Monday, is expected to bring precipitation for areas hit by out-of-control forest fires. Story continues below advertisement The Manitoba government said despite rain in the forecast and temperatures cooling to seasonal levels, Manitoba continues to be under very high to extreme wildfire danger. Northern Alberta was not expected to see much relief from the low-pressure system, according to Environment Canada, as there was little rain in the forecast.
