Outdoor Air Quality

The air you breathe can affect your health. But this is especially important for children, seniors, or anyone living with asthma, heart disease, or other breathing problems. This page will help you stay safe when there's health risks associated with local air pollution. 

The AQHI (Air Quality Health Index) is a tool used to tell you about the risk associated with air pollution and is presented on a scale of 1-10+, with 1 being low risk, and 10 and above being very high-risk. Our Outdoor Air Quality info resource offers additional insight, or, you can keep reading below.

How to protect yourself on poor air quality days

Here’s what you can do to keep yourself and your loved ones safe when the air isn’t great. Keep in mind that each person reacts differently to air pollution and should continue to self-assess:

  • Stay indoors: Try to avoid outdoor activities, especially exercise or chores. If the air feels smoky or smells bad, it’s best to stay inside.

  • Keep your indoor air clean:

    • Close windows and doors to keep polluted air out

    • Use an air purifier if you have one

  • Pay attention to symptoms: Watch for things like coughing, trouble breathing, or irritated eyes.

  • Stick to your care plan: If you have asthma, COPD, or a heart condition, follow the plan your doctor gave you.

How to check air quality in Oxford and Elgin Counties

Checking the air quality where you live can help you plan your day. Use these resources:

How air pollution affects your health

Air pollution can cause problems right away or over time. Here’s what you might notice:

  • Short-term effects:

    • You might feel like you have a cold, with itchy eyes, a sore throat, or coughing

    • It might be harder to breathe, or you could feel tightness in your chest

    • If you already have asthma or heart problems, you might feel worse than usual

  • Long-term effects:

    • Breathing polluted air for a long time can lead to serious illnesses like heart disease or lung damage

If you notice these symptoms, it’s a good idea to talk to your doctor or nurse.

What are air pollutants?

Air pollutants are things in the air that can make it harder to breathe. They come from traffic, factories, wildfires, and even some natural sources.

Common pollutants and what they do:

  • Carbon Monoxide (CO):

    • Where it comes from: Cars and burning fuels like gasoline

    • How it affects you: It can make you feel dizzy or give you a headache

  • Sulphur Dioxide (SO₂):

    • Where it comes from: Factories and burning coal or oil

    • How it affects you: It can irritate your throat and make asthma worse

  • Nitrogen Dioxide (NO₂):

    • Where it comes from: Car exhaust and factory smoke

    • How it affects you: It can irritate your lungs and make it easier to get sick

  • Particulate Matter (PM):

    • Where it comes from: Dust, smoke, and pollution

    • How it affects you: Tiny particles can get into your lungs and make breathing harder

  • Ozone (O₃):

    • Where it comes from: Made on sunny days when pollution reacts with heat

    • How it affects you: It can make your chest feel tight and cause coughing or trouble breathing

Frequently asked questions

The Air Quality Health Index (AQHI), implemented in June 2015, replaced the old Air Quality Index. The AQHI is a health protection tool that is designed to help you make decisions to protect your health by limiting short-term exposure to air pollution and adjusting your activity levels during increased levels of air pollution. It also provides advice on how you can improve the quality of the air you breathe.

This index pays particular attention to people who are sensitive to air pollution and provides them with advice on how to protect their health during air quality levels associated with low, moderate, high and very high health risks.

The AQHI communicates four primary things:

  1. Measures the air quality in relation to your health on a scale from 1 to 10. The higher the number, the greater the health risk associated with the air quality. When the amount of air pollution is very high, the number will be reported as 10+.

  2. Assigns a category that describes the level of health risk associated with the index reading (e.g. low, moderate, high, or very high health risk).

  3. Provides health messages customized to each category for both the general population and the ‘at risk’ population.

  4. Shows current hourly AQHI readings and maximum forecast values for today, tonight and tomorrow.

The AQHI is designed to give you this information along with some suggestions on how you might adjust your activity levels depending on your individual health risk from air pollution.

Learn more by reading our Outdoor Air Quality info resource.

It’s a good idea to check it daily, especially in the summer or during wildfire season.

Continue to self-assess. If you feel worse, call your healthcare provider.

Depending on the length of time you are exposed, your health status, your genetic background and the concentration of pollutants, air pollution can have a negative effect on your heart and lungs. It can:

  • Make it harder to breathe
  • Irritate your lungs and airways
  • Worsen chronic diseases such as heart disease, chronic bronchitis, emphysema and asthma

Each person reacts differently to air pollution.

Seniors are at higher risk because of weakening of the heart, lungs and immune system and increased likelihood of health problems such as heart and lung disease.

Children are also more vulnerable to air pollution; they have less-developed respiratory and defense systems. Children also spend more time outdoors being physically active, which can increase their exposure to air pollution.

People participating in sports or strenuous work outdoors breathe more deeply and rapidly, allowing more air pollution to enter their lungs. They may experience symptoms like eye, nose or throat irritation, cough or difficulty breathing when air pollution levels are high.

Negative health effects increase as air pollution worsens. Small increases in air pollution over a short period of time can increase symptoms for those at risk.

While supplies last.

On high-risk air-quality days, you can pick-up a respirator from: 

  • Southwestern Public Health in St. Thomas and Woodstock
  • Woodstock Public Library
  • Oxford County Libraries- Brownsville, Burgessville, Embro, Harrington, Ingersoll, Innerkip, Mount Elgin, Norwich, Otterville, Plattsville, Princeton, Tavistock, Thamesford, and Tillsonburg
  • St. Thomas Public Library
  • Elgin County Libraries- Aylmer, Belmont, Dutton, Port Burwell, Port Stanley, Rodney, Shedden, Springfield, Straffordville, West Lorne

What should I do next?

Here’s a checklist to help you stay safe:

  1. Check the AQHI forecast every day:

    • Use the Oxford County or Elgin County forecasts

  2. Plan indoor activities:

    • Skip outdoor chores or exercise on poor air quality days

  3. Keep your home safe:

    • Close windows and avoid burning candles or wood

  4. Watch for symptoms:

    • Be alert for coughing, shortness of breath, or sore throat

  5. Call your doctor if needed:

    • If you have a lung or heart condition, ask your doctor how to stay safe on bad air quality days

For more resources, visit the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change website.

Contact Us

Southwestern Public Health (8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Monday - Friday)

St. Thomas Site
(Administrative office)
1230 Talbot Street
St. Thomas, ON N5P 1G9

Woodstock Site
410 Buller Street
Woodstock, ON N4S 4N2

Call us toll free: 1-800-922-0096
Email us

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