Overview: Kingston’s average PM2.5 airborne particulate level for 2024 was 5.2 µg/m3. While the healthiest annual average of the past five years, that remains 3% above the evidence-based WHO limit of 5.0 µg/m3. The slightly healthier annual average was thanks to wind directions, with two unusually-extended periods of mostly northerly airflow (mid-March to late-May and mid-October to late-December). It also helped that increased rainfall in Canada’s boreal forests resulted in a milder-than-usual wildfire season. That said, the disturbing fact remains that Kingston has exceeded the WHO limit in 46 of the past 60 months! If you haven’t gotten into the habit of taking self-protective measures on days with high readings, you’re risking your health and that of your family. Do you know others who might benefit from more awareness of the reality of our air quality and how they can better protect their health? If so, please share this link: https://kingstonairquality.ca.
by Ron Hartling
The purpose of this page is to raise awareness of the uncomfortable reality that, with respect to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), Kingston air quality is consistently worse than the World Health Organization (WHO) standard. The page gives practical advice on managing household exposure to health-damaging particulates. Updates are posted daily around 7 am. If you live elsewhere in Ontario, click on the “Links” menu item above and read the first entry for guidance on applying this site’s information to your situation. For ease of personal decision-making, overall daily risk levels are categorized by severity in this table.
Note that, while most Canadian and US sources define Risk Level 1 as airborne fine-particulate-matter (PM2.5) concentrations less than 12 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3), I employ “Level 0” to differentiate readings within the far more evidence-based, less politically-influenced WHO healthy zone. See the Health impacts page for clarification on the differences between short- and long-term exposure risks.
Commentary as of Saturday January 25 at 6:40 am
Current readings: As predicted, Kingston’s PM2.5 hourly readings yesterday and overnight were mostly in the less healthy Level-1 range, between 5 and 10 µg/m3. That yielded a daily average of 7.8 µg/m3, somewhat higher than Thursday’s 6.5.
Forecast summary: Kingston PM2.5 readings today are likely to be fluctuate between the upper end of the Level-1 range and the lower half of Level-2, but should ease overnight and could be back into healthier Level-0 territory by tomorrow.
Detailed forecast: Environment Canada’s Kingston forecast for the next 24 hours indicates that the current northerly wind is in the process of shifting to southwesterly, where it remain for the rest of the day before becoming westerly early tomorrow morning. That is consistent with the strongly southwesterly Jetstream, which is closer to Eastern Ontario than it has been for the past week; hence today’s warmer temperatures. As per the US AirNow map extracts below, southwesterly winds will bring us poor air quality today, which should improve tomorrow.
Personal protective measures: Some caution would be wise today. I plan to periodically check the hourly Kingston readings and will don my N95 mask when outside during double-digit readings.
This morning’s 5 am AirNow PM2.5 map extract for northeastern North America paints a quite unhealthy picture, with most of the populated part of the region under a huge, yellow-shaded cloud of mostly Level-2 particulate concentrations.
Summary of recent readings
This table summarizes and provides context for the most recent three weeks of Kingston PM2.5 airborne fine particulate readings. The key numbers are, of course, the daily averages because that’s what informs us how our recent exposures have contributed to or ameliorated whatever annual exposure to toxic particulates we are comfortable with or accepting of. For those who choose to lower their at-home exposure in order to better protect their and their households’ long-term health, the numbers provide important information on how much effort may be required to stay within their comfort levels.
To facilitate that analysis, the table also computes each day’s risk category (usually a mix of 0’s, 1’s and 2’s), as well as 7- and 28-day running averages and medians. It also reports on the minimum and maximum readings for each day, as well as on the number of hours that day during which Kingston PM2.5 readings may have exceeded either or both the World Health Organization’s recommended maximum and the seriously outdated and therefore misleading US/Canadian equivalent.
This AirNow PM2.5 forecast map for Central and Eastern USA tomorrow predicts significantly improved air quality for Eastern Ontario, with much of the remainder of the polluted airmass having been pushed southwesterly, well away from us.