Explosive Quebec fires to lower air quality for parts of Ontario
Fires have rapidly expanded across Quebec over the past couple of weeks
Wildfire coverage has significantly expanded across Quebec in recent weeks amid favourable conditions for fire ignition and spread.
Smoke from these blazes will reach portions of Ontario in the days ahead, lowering air quality for some areas heading into the new workweek.
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Significant expansion of Quebec’s wildfires
The total area burned across Quebec exploded from 9,300 hectares at the end of June to more than 530,000 hectares as of July 11.
Northerly winds streaming across the region have pushed some of that wildfire smoke south toward more heavily populated areas.
Poor air quality reached the Gatineau/Ottawa area during the day Saturday, and we’ll see winds continue to funnel that smoke farther south in the coming days.
While the air quality is expected to improve on Sunday for the Ottawa area, conditions will worsen throughout pockets of southern Ontario.
Locally poor air quality will push toward Kingston and Cobourg on Sunday morning. We'll see the smoke push south toward the Niagara Peninsula by Monday morning.