‘Apocalypse now?’ Wildfire smoke turns Toronto sky orange, prompts air quality alerts

Smoke from northern Ontario wildfires turned Toronto’s skyline an eerie shade of orange Wednesday as air quality warnings across southern parts of the province raised health concerns and prompted outdoor event cancellations.

Environment Canada’s air quality warnings stretched from Thunder Bay to Kingston and down to London as several First Nations communities in northwestern Ontario are under mandatory evacuation orders due to forest fires.

Many of the wildfires are threatening areas around Lake Nipigon, north of Thunder Bay, and the smoke plumes have stretched across the U.S.-Canada border, prompting health warnings in New York state.

Jean-Philippe Bégin, an Environment Canada meteorologist, said winds from the northwest will continue to blanket southern Ontario with smoke until at least Friday, when they are expected to change direction and blow northward.

That shift would then put communities north of the fires in the crosshairs, he said.

“It’s only displacing the problem,” Bégin said, “as long as the forest fires are not under control and they emit very large quantities of fine particles.”

The yellow-orange haze of particles in the air over Toronto is particularly bad and can impact people’s health, Bégin said.

Environment Canada is warning that the risk of smoke inhalation is most acute for children, people who are older or pregnant, and those with chronic illnesses. It’s encouraging people to limit their time outdoors and watch for symptoms of throat irritation, headache and cough, and more serious impacts like wheezing and chest pains.

Events across Toronto have been cancelled due to poor air quality and heat warnings, including the FIFA Fan Festival, a planned broadcast of the England-Argentina semifinal World Cup game in Nathan Phillips Square, and an outdoor performance of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” in High Park.

The city has also closed all wading pools, citing health concerns for young children, though outdoor pools will remain open.

Pat Kehs, a tourist visiting Toronto from Washington, D.C., said he was surprised to see conditions in the city change so quickly after enjoying the last few days of sunny, blue skies.

“Is this the apocalypse now? What’s going on here?” Kehs recalled thinking as he woke up on Wednesday and looked out of his hotel window. “This morning it was like a war zone.”

Toronto resident Jason Wang, who wore a face mask as he spoke to The Canadian Press, said he’s never seen air pollution this bad in his 10 years living in the city.

“It’s summer, and I wanted to go out because today is my day off,” he said. “It’s depressing … I didn’t expect this.”

Wang said he will likely keep the mask on for the next few days to protect himself because he has a family history of respiratory illness.

Respirators such as N95, KN95 or KF94 masks can help prevent the fine particles of wildfire smoke from being inhaled into the lungs, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.

The poor air quality comes as large swaths of Ontario dealt with the second day of a heat wave that pushed humidex values as high as 45 degrees in some areas Tuesday.

The extreme heat broke a temperature record in downtown Toronto, where mercury soared to 37.6 C, according to data released by Environment Canada. The previous record for July 14 was set in 1995 with a temperature of 35.6 C.

The heat alert for Toronto was lifted on Wednesday afternoon.

When extreme heat occurs alongside poor air quality, Environment Canada advises people to prioritize keeping cool.

Bégin said a low pressure system expected to bring rain across many regions on Friday could bring relief to firefighting efforts in northwestern Ontario and improve air quality by cleaning out particles in the air.

The meteorologist said air quality levels will continue to fluctuate in the region as the wildfires blaze.

Forest fire officials said there are 148 active wildland fires in the northwest of Ontario as of Tuesday evening, including 69 fires that are not under control.

— With files from Sharif Hassan in Toronto

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 15, 2026.

Kathryn Mannie, The Canadian Press