Loading...
Our hypothesis was supported by the data. There is a strong, statistically significant positive correlation between annual wildfire burn area in Canada and the number of bad air days experienced in Toronto. When more land burns across Canada, Toronto residents experience more days with unhealthy air quality.
These findings have important implications for public health planning. As climate change is expected to increase both the frequency and severity of wildfires in Canada, cities like Toronto should prepare for more frequent poor air quality events. This could include expanding air quality monitoring networks, improving public alert systems, and ensuring adequate supplies of N95 masks for vulnerable populations.
This study did not account for wind direction, which affects how much smoke reaches Toronto from different fire locations. Additionally, other sources of PM2.5 (such as industrial emissions and vehicle exhaust) were not isolated from the analysis. Future research could incorporate atmospheric modeling to better trace the origin of PM2.5 particles.
Further study could examine the relationship between specific fire locations and air quality impacts, as fires in Ontario and Quebec likely have a greater effect on Toronto than fires in British Columbia due to prevailing wind patterns.