Check the air quality by consulting the weather forecast. For many Canadian parents, the start of the holidays is becoming a headache in cities suffocating under the fumes from the mega fires that are ravaging the country.
• Also read: Weather in Quebec: Gloomy weather under the smog for Thursday
• Also read: Montreal is closing its outdoor sports facilities due to smog
• Also read: Smog: The opening night of the International des Feux Loto-Québec has been cancelled
For several days there have been episodes of unprecedented air pollution in the metropolitan areas of eastern Canada, in Quebec and Ontario.
Vulnerable people, including children, are therefore advised to stay indoors to avoid inhaling the fumes, which contain particularly high concentrations of particulate matter.
Marion Hélies, an animator at a Montreal leisure center, tells AFP about the frustration of her little residents: “The kids can’t hold on anymore because we were inside for several days.”
Air Quality Index (AQI)
How high is the air quality index in your city and what health recommendations are derived from it?
Air Quality Index (AQI US)
101-150
Bad
sensitive people
AQI: GOOD
Great day to be active outside.
AQI: MODERATE
Some people may be particularly sensitive to particulate matter pollution
Particularly sensitive people: Consider reducing the duration and intensity of outdoor activities. Watch for symptoms such as coughing or shortness of breath. These are signs of slowing down.
All the others : Great day to be active outside.
AQI: BAD for
sensitive people
Sensitive groups include people with heart or lung diseases, the elderly, children and young people, minorities and field workers.
Sensitive groups: Reduce the duration and intensity of outdoor activities. It’s okay to be active outside, but take more breaks. Watch for symptoms such as coughing or shortness of breath.
People with heart disease: Symptoms such as palpitations, shortness of breath, or unusual tiredness can indicate a serious problem. If you have any of these symptoms, contact your doctor.
AQI: BAD
for each
Sensitive people: Avoid prolonged or strenuous outdoor activities. Consider moving or moving activities inward.*
All the others : Reduce the duration and intensity of activities. Take more breaks from outdoor activities.
*Note: If you don’t have air conditioning, it can be dangerous to stay indoors with the windows closed during extremely hot weather. If you’re hot, go to a place with air conditioning or check with your community to see if cooling centers are available in your community.
AQI: VERY BAD
Sensitive people: Avoid any physical activity outdoors. Postpone it to a time when the air quality is better or move activities indoors.*
All the others : Avoid prolonged or strenuous activities. Consider moving or moving activities inward.*
*Note: If you don’t have air conditioning, it can be dangerous to stay indoors with the windows closed during extremely hot weather. If you’re hot, go to a place with air conditioning or check with your community to see if cooling centers are available in your community.
AQI: CRITICAL
All the others : Avoid any physical activity outdoors.
Sensitive people: Stay indoors and maintain reduced activity levels. Follow these tips to keep particulate matter levels low indoors.*
*Note: If you don’t have air conditioning, it can be dangerous to stay indoors with the windows closed during extremely hot weather. If you’re hot, go to a place with air conditioning or check with your community to see if cooling centers are available in your community.
“It’s a bit difficult to channel them, given the smoke and rain,” she says, confident she organized a 10-minute trip despite the deteriorating air quality in the French-speaking metropolis.
It is the second time in a few days that the city has been forced to close sports fields and outdoor pools due to the fumes. On the streets, the smell of burning envelops everything – despite fires more than 600 km away. The buildings are obscured by fog and it is difficult to see the sun.
According to the authorities, the air quality index varies between “harmful” and “very harmful”.
After being locked at home for several days, 14-year-old Marin Vicck finally offered to go on a trip. “The air quality is so terrible that it’s difficult to walk around because of the smoke. We feel trapped.”
Kedjar Boudjema is also discouraged by this series of warnings in a few days. Phone in hand, he now consults his air quality application every day.
“When I get notifications, I pay attention, I close the windows,” says the father of a 4-year-old boy, proudly carrying his blue and red Winnie the Pooh umbrella.
“I’m worried about his health, but at the same time it’s complicated not to go out with him at all,” he says wearily.
In Ottawa, where visibility was again very poor on Thursday, Janet Hamill planned her day according to the air quality, preferring to take her two grandchildren, aged 2 and 11, for a walk early in the day so the smoke wouldn’t get too heavy.
“I’ll get her home before things get really bad. The smoke is just as harsh on them as it is on me, so we stay indoors most of the time,” explains the grandmother.
This heavy pollution could repeat itself throughout the summer, as authorities had warned that the peak of the fire season was not yet reached.
Many are therefore concerned about the long-term health consequences in a country with 10% asthmatics: Calls to Asthma Canada, an association dedicated to this respiratory disease, have almost doubled since the fires began in early May.
Above all, people “want to know what they can do to protect themselves,” its president, Jeff Beach, told AFP.
Canada, which due to its geographical location is warming faster than the rest of the planet, has faced extreme weather events in recent years, the intensity and frequency of which have increased as a result of climate change.