Air quality warnings spread across Golden Horseshoe as wildfires burn in northwestern Ontario

Smoke from forest fires in northwestern Ontario has drifted southeast and infiltrated the skies over southern Ontario, including Hamilton and Niagara region.

Air quality warnings are in place from Thunder Bay east to Kingston and southeast to Niagara Falls, as several First Nations communities north of the western part of Lake Superior are under mandatory fire evacuation orders.

On Wednesday morning, Toronto topped the list as the city with the worst air quality in the world.

Hamilton now sits at “very high risk” according to Environment Canada’s Air Quality Health Index.

Smog and air health advisories are issued by Environment and Climate Change Canada when the air quality health index is 7-10 or greater and expected to last for more than 3 hours.

Wednesday into Thursday are projected to be over 10 for the Hamilton area. Air quality alerts by city across Canada are listed here.

The smoke is projected to linger until Friday, when winds are expected to change direction and blow further north.

Environment Canada is advising people to limit their time outdoors and warning of the health risks of inhaling smoke, this includes when out walking their pets.

Common symptoms of smoke inhalation include throat irritation, headache and cough.

Children and the elderly should take special care, particularly people with heart and lung conditions. Keep windows and doors closed when indoor air quality is better than outdoors.

The poor air quality comes as much of Ontario dealt with the second day of a heat wave that pushed humidex values as high as 45 degrees in some areas on Tuesday.

Locally, the City of Hamilton initiated an extended heat warning Wednesday morning. Cool Down locations can be identified by a “Cool Down Here” sign at various building entrances.

For more information visit www.hamilton.ca/heat.

With files from The Canadian Press