Toronto residents woke up to clearer air Sunday after an air quality warning across the Greater Toronto Area was lifted.
The improvement followed four days of orange and yellow alerts triggered by more than 150 active wildfires burning in northern Ontario.
Environment Canada upgraded Toronto’s air quality to “low risk,” rated three on the Air Quality Health Index, beginning at 9 a.m. Sunday.
The agency’s hourly forecast later indicated a slight decline by Monday afternoon, with “moderate risk” conditions rated four expected from 1 p.m.
Air quality peaked last Wednesday as a strong jet stream pushed wildfire smoke into southern Ontario while a heat dome caused toxic air to linger.
At one point, the hazy air in the GTA reached the maximum 10-plus rating, or “very high risk,” staying elevated through Thursday before gradually improving Friday and Saturday.
Air quality monitors ranked Toronto among the worst in the world as a heat wave settled over the city.
As of Sunday afternoon, provincial authorities reported 139 active fires in Ontario’s northwest region.
Officials noted fire behaviour had been minimal in recent days but said hazard levels were rebounding as forest fuels remained very dry.
Recent storms brought lightning that could spark holdover ignitions, and monitoring continues for new fires across the landscape.
Evacuation orders were issued last week for several communities, including Armstrong and multiple First Nation reserves across northern Ontario.
