TORONTO – Like on a seesaw, Toronto is swinging, up and down and up again, in the global air quality rankings compiled in real time by the Swiss company IQAir (here). After dropping out of the top ten cities with the worst air quality in the world in recent days, today Toronto climbed back up to fifth place, where it was at 8:30 a.m (see the graphic below).

At the same time, Environment Canada’s monitoring system (here the updatings in real time) had classified the city as a Level 5, which represents moderate risk. And it was visible to the naked eye, this morning: despite the clear weather, the sky was not blue but rather whitish, with the sun almost “eclipsed” by the blanket of smoke from the wildfires still raging in many Canadian provinces.

During the morning, the level dropped to 4 (which still represents a moderate risk), and Toronto slipped to ninth place in the world rankings, though it remained in the top ten until noon.

And the forecast, unfortunately, isn’t the best: thanks in part to the good weather and the resulting lack of rain (which would allow the sky to clear somewhat), a level 5 is expected—according to Environment Canada’s monitoring at the time of writing—at least until Friday night.

The advice remains the same: those most at risk (the elderly or those with respiratory or chronic conditions) should try to avoid outdoor activities, but even those not at risk should exercise caution, and if they experience symptoms such as a cough, sore throat, or headache, they should also refrain from strenuous outdoor activities.

It’s summer, but the sky, unfortunately, is increasingly less blue.

Graphic from www.iqair.com/ca/world-air-quality-ranking; photos taken by Marzio Pelù (Corriere Canadese) at York Mills and Leslie in North York, Toronto, today at 6:30am