DRYDEN — While most of the Northwest will see compromised air quality this week, national weather officials say areas west of Thunder Bay will likely have it worse.
Environment Canada issued special air quality statements for a huge swath of Northwestern Ontario as of early Monday morning. The only areas not affected were in the far north, north of places like Neskantaga and Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug.
However, for locales west of Thunder Bay, including Ignace and Atikokan west to the Manitoba border, the smoke “unfortunately, it looks like it will be a bit more persistent,” said meteorologist Crawford Luke.
“A lot of that is just because these places are just that much closer to the fires, and it's kind of hard to get a good wind direction to really clear things out,” he said.
“We really need a strong south wind to kind of get the smoke out of those areas, and we're just not seeing it for the next few days, unfortunately.”
The Environment Canada alerts for most of the region are forecasting air quality to be affected through the day on Monday and either “possibly into Tuesday” or they’re calling for “additional fluctuations.”
West of Thunder Bay, however, the weather office says that “the poor air quality will persist possibly through Wednesday before improving.”
“Basically, the fires are to the north and especially to the northwest,” Luke said. “And so, when we get a northwest wind, which is more or less what we're seeing across a good part of the province, it's just bringing all that smoke from these fires.”
Officials say common symptoms of smoke exposure can include eye, nose and throat irritation, headaches or a mild cough. Symptoms that are more serious, but less common, can include wheezing, chest pains or a more severe cough.
Air pollution typically affects people who are 65 and older, people who are pregnant, infants and young children, people with an existing illness or chronic health condition and people who work outdoors.
“If you are having to be outside or work outside and it is smoky or (there is) poor air quality, really try to take it easy, try to take breaks, get out of that poor air quality, get inside into a well-ventilated space if you can,” Luke said. “Wear a mask if you have to be outside for a period of time.”
“Just listen to your body.”
-With files from Sheri Leviski-Kotyk.
