Smoke from U.S. wildfires is creating hazy skies in Toronto

Major wildfires have been raging across the western part of the United States for quite some time now, and smoke from the California and Oregon fires appears to now have travelled all the way to Toronto. 

City-dwellers and those living in other parts of Southern Ontario have reportedly noticed visibly hazy skies in the province this week, and meteorologist Doug Gillham confirmed on Twitter today that this is in fact a result of the wildfires.

ominous skies today near Toronto- the reddish tinge of smoke blown eastward from the wildfires on the west coast pic.twitter.com/84m3VJNbS7

— Emmanuelle 🦇 (@preraphaeIist) September 14, 2020

"Many are asking about the hazy sky. Yes, smoke from the western U.S. wildfires has reached southern Ontario," he wrote. 

"The haze/smoke should continue thru Tuesday. The haze will likely hold temperatures back by a degree or two during the day."

If you noticed it was a hazy this morning you are correct. Smoke from the fires across the western U.S. is spreading east and is now over most of #ONwx. pic.twitter.com/kgrpbw8sje

— Brad Rousseau (@bradrousseau) September 14, 2020

In a recent blog post from The Weather Network, meteorolists said the smoke could result in slightly cooler temperatures this week and more hazy skies, but fortunately it is not expected to impact air quality. 

Smoke from the Oregon, Washington, and California wildfires has reached Southern Ontario and spread as far east as Canada's capital. #wildfires #airquality pic.twitter.com/7QRcOFkRfp

— Eric Unger 😷 (@ericonca) September 14, 2020

Western Canada, on the other hand, has been blanketed by far more extreme smoke than Ontario, with air quality in B.C. dropping to hazardous levels over the past few days. 

🥳 smoke from western US #wildfires creeps into Ontario skies above my backyard. #onwx pic.twitter.com/d6x4TD5n9x

— cartogeek (@cartogeek) September 14, 2020

In Ontario, however, the smoke has simply given the sky a hazy appearance that many are attempting to capture and share on social media. 

Beautiful day today in #Toronto #Vaughan and the rest of the #GTA

After hours of sunshine the sky has now turned somewhat hazy as some of the smoke from the fires out west has been transported in aloft.#onstorm pic.twitter.com/QMSj6bER5D

— Tom Stef (@vaughanweather) September 13, 2020

The haze is also expected to result in some picturesque sunsets, so be sure to keep an eye on the sky over the course of the week.

Western Wildfires Smoke has made it over Southern Ontario again today and will likely continue the next few days. Not expecting any impacts to health as it is aloft in the atmosphere. This has, and will continue to result in a hazy look to the sky and some great sunsets! 🌇 pic.twitter.com/6H2bQxvimo

— Kyle Woods (@Kyle22Woods) September 14, 2020

But while Toronto's hazy skies might make for a great new Insta, it's important to remember that the cool aesthetic created by the smoke is a direct result of the deadly fires which are undeniably caused and exacerbated by climate change.