A meterologist for the Weather Network says it was expected for the Windsor region to see a special air quality statement due to lingering smoke from numerous wildfires in the country.
A special air quality statement has been issued for the Windsor-Essex and Chatham regions, along with many other regions in southern Ontario because of smoke plumes from local forest fires, as well as fires in Quebec.
Speaking on AM800's The Shift with Patty Handysides, Doug Gillham says there hasn't been any relief from warm, dry conditions in the region due to a lack of rainfall.
The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre says about 2,285 fires have burned 37-thousand square kilometres so far this year.
According to the Weather Network, as of Tuesday evening, there are around 150 wildfires burning in Quebec, and have been more than 800 fires this year so far for the province, surpassing the 10-year average of 199 blazes in the province by the beginning of June.
Gillham says the smoke is expected to continue to travel to the region over the next couple of days.
"I expect you'll be able to smell the smoke, the air quality will deteriorate. You can still see the sunshine, but definitely a very, very hazy sky and that smell of smoke. I'd definitely take it easy, this is not air that you'll be wanting to breathe deeply."
He says the areas where the fires are burning, there is no relief in sight, which means more smoke for the region.
"Northern Ontario is going to get drier and drier over the next few weeks, so, while we will be seeing some relief in the south, that's good news for agriculture, in terms of the smoke that we'll have to deal with at times there's not a lot of relief for the fires to our north.")
He adds that the smoke will be pushing more south from the Quebec fires.
"The flow of air, and the lower it mid-levels with the atmosphere from the northeast, typically this time of year with the winds from that direction, that's when we get the crystal clear skies, the low humidity, the gorgeous sunshine, but because that's where the fires are, it's strange and most unusual to have air quality issues with the wind coming from that direction."
The Weather Network is reminding the public that wildfire smoke can be harmful to everyone's health even at low concentrations.
People with lung disease such as asthma, or heart disease, older adults, children, pregnant people, and people who work outdoors are at higher risk of experiencing health effects caused by wildfire smoke.
Federal Emergency Preparedness Minister, Bill Blair, says wildfires burning across Canada are some of the most severe ever witnessed in the country and the forecast for the next few months indicates the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity.
-with files from AM800's The Shift and the Canadian Press