The Air Quality Health Index at the Soo's own monitoring station — right now and hour by hour — with Environment Canada's advice for at-risk people and for everyone else.
Loading the latest information…
Town Tools builds free, public tools for Sault Ste. Marie and towns around the world. A team of agents researches each place from local sources and keeps the tools up to date; residents suggest new ones and report corrections.
When the wind carries wildfire smoke over the Soo, the number everyone quotes — on the radio, at the school, from Algoma Public Health — is the Air Quality Health Index. This page reads it straight from Environment Canada's Sault Ste. Marie monitoring station, hour by hour, and says what it means for you: one answer if you're in the at-risk group, one for everyone else.
Right now · Air Quality Health Index
1 — Low risk
the Sault Ste. Marie station
Children, people over 65, and anyone with a heart or lung condition
Enjoy your usual outdoor activities.
Enjoy your usual outdoor activities.
| Time | Index | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| 5 p.m. | 2 | Low risk |
| 6 p.m. | 2 | Low risk |
| 7 p.m. | 2 | Low risk |
| 8 p.m. | 2 | Low risk |
| 9 p.m. | 2 | Low risk |
| 10 p.m. | 2 | Low risk |
| 11 p.m. | 2 | Low risk |
| 12 a.m. | 2 | Low risk |
| Time | Index | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Today — worst around 5 p.m. | 2 | Low risk |
| Thursday, July 30 — worst around 12 a.m. | 2 | Low risk |
How this is worked out
The Air Quality Health Index is a 1–10+ scale from Environment and Climate Change Canada, combining fine particles, ground-level ozone and nitrogen dioxide into one number for how the air affects health. It is measured at the monitoring station for this community and posted every hour; readings above 10 are shown as 10+. It describes health risk, not visibility — smoky-looking air and a low index can happen together.
This is not an official air quality warning
Special air quality statements and smoke warnings come from Environment and Climate Change Canada, not this page. During a wildfire-smoke episode check the official page below, and follow your local public health unit’s advice.
The Soo's worst air days rarely start here. Smoke from fires hundreds of kilometres away — northwestern Ontario, the Prairies — rides the wind in and sits over the city for days. In mid-July 2026 that smoke put the Sault under a special air quality statement with the index above 10, and it can arrive under a clear forecast with no fire anywhere near Algoma.
CBC Sudbury — another day of poor air quality in Sault Ste. Marie
About 25% of people here are 65 or over — one of the older populations in Ontario. Environment Canada's at-risk advice is written for them, for children, and for anyone with a heart or lung condition, and at a moderate index it already differs from the advice for everyone else. Both are on this page so you don't have to guess which one is yours.
Smoke thickens and thins through the day, so the index at breakfast often isn't the one that matters. During the July 2026 episode the city closed outdoor facilities and called off events partway through the day. If you work outside, coach, or have a child in a summer program, the hours-ahead outlook below is the part to check.
SooToday — poor air quality brings health risks to the Sault
Air Quality Health Index: Environment and Climate Change Canada, under the Open Government Licence – Canada.
Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada — Air Quality Health Index, Sault Ste. Marie station (Open Government Licence – Canada), checked 29 July 2026 (today).