Location: Ministry Home > News > 2003 News Releases > News Release

News Archive

News Release

For immediate release
July 3, 2003

Notice of Expanded Smog Advisory

The Ontario Ministry of the Environment is expanding its existing Smog Advisory to include the following additional forecast regions for July 4:

Algonquin	Renfrew
Ottawa-Prescott-Russell-Cornwall

A Smog Advisory remains in effect for:

Barrie-Huronia-Simcoe County	Parry Sound-Muskoka
Brant-Haldimand-Norfolk	Peterborough/Kawarthas
Elgin	Prince Edward County
Grey-Bruce	Quinte-Northumberland
Haliburton	Sarnia-Lambton
Halton-Peel	Smiths Falls-Frontenac-Lanark
Hamilton	Toronto
Huron-Perth	Waterloo-Wellington-Dufferin
Kingston-Brockville	Windsor-Essex-Chatham-Kent
London-Middlesex-Oxford	York-Durham
Niagara

The Smog Advisory for all the above regions will be in effect until further notice.

A Smog Advisory is issued when there is a high probability for elevated smog levels.

Hot, sunny conditions with light southerly winds blowing air pollution from the U.S. into the province is expected to result in high smog levels across parts of Ontario.

Smog is a hazy mix of pollutants made up of ground-level ozone, fine particulate matter and other pollutants. During the summer months, more-than half of Ontario’s smog-causing pollution originates in the United States. In cooler months, domestic sources can be significant contributors to the formation of fine particulate matter.

Ontario has one of Canada’s best air quality monitoring systems. The ministry issues Smog Advisory and Smog Watch notices in order to provide the people of Ontario with the information they need to protect themselves from the potential health effects of smog.

The Web site www.airqualityontario.com contains a list of “spare the air” actions to combat smog and minimize its effect on sensitive populations. If you want to learn more about air quality, visit the Ministry of the Environment’s Web site at www.ene.gov.on.ca.

 

–30 –

Contact:
John Steele
Communications Branch
Ministry of the Environment
(416) 314-6666