Wildfire smoke causes poor air quality in major Canadian cities
Ottawa, June 7 (UNI) Smoke from wildfires burning in northern Ontario and the Prairies of Canada caused poor air quality and reduced visibility in major cities including Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.
Environment Canada issued special air quality statements for these areas on Friday, warning that people most likely to suffer health effects from air pollution should avoid strenuous activities outdoors and seek medical attention if experiencing symptoms.
Environment Canada's David Phillips said on CTV News that as wildfires ramp up across the country, air quality is deteriorating.
"What we've seen this week, of course, in Ontario is a lot of that smoke from fires has come south," Phillips said.
"Only a few see the flames but millions smell the smoke," he said.
According to data from Swiss air quality tracker IQAir, Toronto's air quality was ranked the second worst in the world Friday afternoon.
UNI XINHUA ARN
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
United News of India
an hour ago
- United News of India
No need to panic because of rising Covid cases, just be cautious: Dr Wali
New Delhi, June 7 (UNI) The Covid cases are rising rapidly and the deaths have alerted us but there is no need to panic, prominent doctor Mohsin Wali has said. Dr. Wali, who has had the unique privilege of serving three Presidents of India -- R. Venkataraman, Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma, and Pranab Kumar Mukherjee -- said most of the people infected with the virus will have mild to moderate respiratory illness and will not require special treatment. While the potency of the current strain of the Covid virus has increased slightly, there is no need to panic, he says, adding people should, instead, be cautious about its transmission and follow Covid-appropriate behavior. 'This is a respiratory virus, a sars virus, and the current variant is a sub-variant of Omicron. Its spike protein has changed, and it has increased its ability to bind to cells. However, we need to fear not the virus itself but its transmission," he said. 'Fearing transmission means we need to wear masks, use sanitizers, maintain social distancing, and follow covid-appropriate protocols. We should not go directly to (interact with) small children or elderly people after coming home from outside," he suggested. "If you have cough, cold, and fever for more than three days, get tested for covid. If the test is positive, don't panic. Isolate yourself and follow the doctor's advice," he added. People with asthma, cold, and fever along with heart or kidney disease should be cautious and those who have undergone kidney or liver transplant should also be careful. "We don't need to do anything more than this. The government is monitoring it, and whenever there is another variation, it will be caught," he says. UNI AM AKK BM
United News of India
8 hours ago
- United News of India
Day temperatures above normal at few places over Arunachal Pradesh
Pune, Jun 7(UNI) Day temperatures were appreciably above normal (3.1°C to 5.0°C) at few places over Arunachal Pradesh; at isolated places over Assam and Meghalaya, Odisha, west Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh, Gilgit, Baltistan, Muzaffarabad, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal and Kerala and Mahe. The day temperatures were above normal (1.6°C to 3.0°C) at many places over Lakshadweep; at a few places over Sub Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim, coastal Andhra Pradesh, Yanam, coastal Karnataka and north interior Karnataka; at isolated places over Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Gangetic West Bengal, Jharkhand, east Uttar Pradesh, west Rajasthan, east Madhya Pradesh and Saurashtra and Kutch. The temperatures near normal (-1.5°C to 1.5°C) at many places over Punjab, Konkan and Goa, Madhya Maharashtra, Vidarbha, Telangana, Rayalaseema and south interior Karnataka; at most places over Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Bihar and Gujarat region; at few places over Uttarakhand, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, east Rajasthan, west Madhya Pradesh and Marathwada. On Friday, the highest maximum temperature of 43.4°C was reported at Barmer (Rajasthan). The Southwest Monsoon has been subdued over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya, Telangana, Rayalaseema, Tamil Nadu, coastal Karnataka, north interior Karnataka, south interior Karnataka and Kerala. Rain or thundershowers have occurred at many places in Andaman and Nicobar Islands and at a few places in Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura, Gangetic West Bengal and Konkan and Goa and at isolated places in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya, Sub Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, east Uttar Pradesh, west Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh, east Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat region, Saurashtra and Kutch, Madhya Maharashtra, Marathwada, coastal Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Rayalseema, Tamil Nadu, coastal Karnataka, north interior Karnataka, south Interior Karnataka and Kerala. Mainly dry weather has prevailed in Uttarakhand, Haryana, Punjab, west Rajasthan and Lakshadweep. Following observations for the past 24 hrs were recorded at 0830 hrs on Saturday. Temperature (deg.C) Max Min ------ ------ EAST INDIA Agartala 33 27(+2) Bhubaneswar 37 24(-3) Darjeeling 21(+1) 13(+1) Dibrugarh 32(+1) 25(+1) Gangtok 24(+2) 16 Guwahati 34(+1) 26(+1) Imphal 30 21 Kohima 26 18(+2) Kolkata 34(-1) 22(-5) Passighat 33(+3) 23 Patna 35(-2) 27(+1) Ranchi 34(-2) 22(-2) Shillong 23(-1) 16(-1) NORTH INDIA Allahabad 41 26(-2) Ambala 39 27(+1) Amritsar 39(-1) 27(+3) Bareilly 37(-2) 26(-1) Chandigarh 38(-1) 27(+1) Dehra Dun 35(-1) 22(-1) Jaipur 40(-1) 28 Jodhpur 41 30(+1) Lucknow 39(-1) 26(-1) New Delhi 38(-2) 26(-1) Shimla 23(-3) 16 Srinagar 30(+2) 17(+3) Varanasi 40 26(-1) CENTRAL INDIA Bhopal 38(-2) 26(-1) Indore 36(-3) 25 Jabalpur 39(-2) 26(-2) Nagpur 42 28 Raipur 40(-1) 28 Satna 39(-3) 28(-1) PENINSULA Ahmedabad 41 29(+1) Aurangabad 34(-3) 24 Bengaluru 31(+1) 22(+1) Bhuj 40(+1) 27 Chennai 39(+1) 29(+1) Gadag 34(+2) 22 Hyderabad 36(-1) 26(+1) Kanyakumari 33(+2) 25 Madurai 37 26 Mahabaleshwar 24(-3) 18 Mangaluru 32(+1) 25(+1) Mumbai 32(-2) 25(-2) Panjim 33(+1) 26(+1) Pune 33(-1) 23 Rajkot 41(+1) 26(-1) Thiruvananthapuram 34(+3) 26(+2) Tiruchirapalli 39(+1) 26 Vishakhapatnam 37(+1) 27(-1) INDIAN ISLANDS Car Nicobar 32(+1) 25(+1) Minicoy 33(+2) 27(+2) Port Blair 31(+1) 24 (Notes: + Indicates is above normal, - Indicates is below normal.) UNI SP UK BM
United News of India
11 hours ago
- United News of India
India's active Covid cases rise to 5,758; 4 deaths reported in 24 hours
New Delhi, June 7 (UNI) India is witnessing a fresh increase in Covid-19 cases, with active infections climbing to 5, 758, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare's update as of 8 am on Saturday. A total 391 new cases and four deaths were registered in the past 24 hours. One fatality each was from Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Maharashtra, as per the ministry's Covid dashboard. While overall hospitalisations remain low, health authorities are closely monitoring the evolving situation, especially with the emergence of new subvariants. Kerala is currently leading the spike, having reported 127 new infections, pushing its active caseload to 1,806 — nearly half of the country's total active cases. Other states contributing to the recent surge include West Bengal, which recorded 26 new cases (active cases now at 622), and Delhi, which added 73 infections (active tally at 655). Maharashtra, which experienced major outbreaks in previous waves, reported 29 new cases, bringing its cumulative case count to 577, as per the Central government data. According to the World Health Organization's (WHO) May 2025 classification, two new subvariants — LF.7 and NB.1.8.1 — have been labeled as Variants Under Monitoring. These variants are not yet considered Variants of Concern or Variants of Interest, but they are suspected to be contributing to rising infection numbers not only in India but also in China and other parts of Asia. Meanwhile, the JN.1 strain remains the most dominant variant in the country, accounting for 53% of all positive cases, based on genomic data from the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG). Although there is currently no significant increase in hospital admissions, health experts warn that public complacency could reverse recent progress. The virus continues to evolve, with symptoms such as fatigue, sore throat, and gastrointestinal discomfort becoming more common with newer strains. The Ministry of Health urges the public to continue following basic preventive measures, including regular hand hygiene, wearing masks in crowded or poorly ventilated spaces, and getting tested at the first sign of symptoms. Those who test positive are strongly advised to isolate immediately to prevent further spread. UNI AJ PRS
