The air in Montreal is smoky due to fires in the prairies

      The air in Montreal is heavily smoky this weekend, and for the second day in a row, the city authorities issued a special statement about the poor quality of the atmosphere.  

      The Canadian Environmental Protection Agency also warned the public to limit outdoor activity, keep windows closed and use special filters and air purifiers, however, according to forecasts, the quality of the atmosphere will gradually improve during Sunday.

      The problem of air pollution is related to steppe and forest fires, which, according to the Montreal Gazette, "continue to rage in the prairies," therefore, most likely, at least on Sunday, air quality will remain at a low level, but it will still be better than on Friday and Saturday. The same thing will happen with the haze that has covered city blocks, i.e. it should also gradually dissipate.

      At the same time, the Montreal edition of TimeOut emphasizes that due to steppe fires in a large area of the western part of the country, smoke will continue and move even towards Europe. The publication also refers to IQAir, the world air quality rating: Montreal is the second most polluted city in the world and has already surpassed Delhi (India) and Santiago (Chile) in this parameter.

      However, the wind direction is already changing, and the situation should return to normal, so the Canadian Grand Prix at Montreal's Gilles Villeneuve Circuit is not in danger. At least, there are no official statements about this.

      But yesterday, one of the local fans shared these observations on social media.: "I don't live very far from the highway, and the air quality here is definitely not good because of the fires in Manitoba. But two years ago, a week before the race, the air quality was worse than it is now..."