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OT: Should i be taking the wildfire smoke AQI warning seriously?
Posted: Mon Aug 4, 2025 4:22 pm
by Ranger One
I know a lot of people here live in Toronto or the GTA and was wondering how you are all dealing with the constant wildfire smoke alerts this summer. For the past 2 days its been in the red in my area (Oshawa), which means an AQI over 150, yet i still see a ton of people with young children and elderly people out and about, while im in my house cowering in my room like its nuclear fallout out there lol. Am i the crazy one here or are all those parents with young children and really old people just irresponsible? I should also mention that i have really bad anxiety and already have the constant need to take deep breaths as a result of it. So i dont know if that would make it worse for me or not going outside.
Re: OT: Should i be taking the wildfire smoke AQI warning seriously?
Posted: Mon Aug 4, 2025 4:53 pm
by Fairview4Life
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normalcy_biasYou're probably best off continuing to listen to the people who know what they're talking about.
Re: OT: Should i be taking the wildfire smoke AQI warning seriously?
Posted: Mon Aug 4, 2025 4:58 pm
by Randle McMurphy
I played golf all day outside yesterday and was able to survive.
Re: OT: Should i be taking the wildfire smoke AQI warning seriously?
Posted: Mon Aug 4, 2025 4:59 pm
by Fairview4Life
Randle McMurphy wrote:I played golf all day outside yesterday and was able to survive.
My grandfather smoked cigarettes for decades before it killed him.
Re: OT: Should i be taking the wildfire smoke AQI warning seriously?
Posted: Mon Aug 4, 2025 6:09 pm
by Randle McMurphy
Fairview4Life wrote:Randle McMurphy wrote:I played golf all day outside yesterday and was able to survive.
My grandfather smoked cigarettes for decades before it killed him.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_equivalence
Re: OT: Should i be taking the wildfire smoke AQI warning seriously?
Posted: Mon Aug 4, 2025 6:13 pm
by Fairview4Life
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_biasAnyway, if your point is that not dying playing golf once means you should ignore air quality warnings, that is a very dumb point to make. I am pretty sure the air quality index being high doesn't come with an immediate dropping dead.
Re: OT: Should i be taking the wildfire smoke AQI warning seriously?
Posted: Mon Aug 4, 2025 6:14 pm
by Raps in 4
You can't really do anything about it. It gets into your house too (you need a HEPA air purifier to get rid of it, and I'm not even sure how effective that is).
People out West deal with much more intense and frequent forest fires. They pretty much have AQI warnings all summer. It's bad for you long-term, but you also can't really spend your entire life indoors (it's not healthy for you mentally or physically). And forest fires are only going to get more common as climate change accelerates.
I don't know what the best advice is for kids (check with a doctor or read some published studies on it), but as an adult, I don't give a **** if I breathe that stuff in. We take in carcinogens from a million different sources every day in our modern lives so I've stopped caring.
Re: OT: Should i be taking the wildfire smoke AQI warning seriously?
Posted: Mon Aug 4, 2025 6:15 pm
by Randle McMurphy
Fairview4Life wrote:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_biasAnyway, if your point is that not dying playing golf once means you should ignore air quality warnings, that is a very dumb point to make. I am pretty sure the air quality index being high doesn't come with an immediate dropping dead.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man
Re: OT: Should i be taking the wildfire smoke AQI warning seriously?
Posted: Mon Aug 4, 2025 6:21 pm
by Fairview4Life
Those words don't mean what you think they mean. Trolling for the sake of trolling I guess. Just can't stop the hustle.
Re: OT: Should i be taking the wildfire smoke AQI warning seriously?
Posted: Mon Aug 4, 2025 6:35 pm
by Ranger One
Raps in 4 wrote:You can't really do anything about it. It gets into your house too (you need a HEPA air purifier to get rid of it, and I'm not even sure how effective that is).
People out West deal with much more intense and frequent forest fires. They pretty much have AQI warnings all summer. It's bad for you long-term, but you also can't really spend your entire life indoors (it's not healthy for you mentally or physically). And forest fires are only going to get more common as climate change accelerates.
I don't know what the best advice is for kids (check with a doctor or read some published studies on it), but as an adult, I don't give a **** if I breathe that stuff in. We take in carcinogens from a million different sources every day in our modern lives so I've stopped caring.
Regarding your last sentence, from some cursory research ive done on the topic, it appears that the particles from the smoke are ten time smaller than the regular pollution from cars and factories that we breathe in on a daily basis, and as such are much more harmful to your lungs both in the short and long term. So while you might not care about it, it appears the smoke alerts should definitely not be dismissed so readily.
Re: OT: Should i be taking the wildfire smoke AQI warning seriously?
Posted: Mon Aug 4, 2025 6:44 pm
by Randle McMurphy
Fairview4Life wrote:Those words don't mean what you think they mean. Trolling for the sake of trolling I guess. Just can't stop the hustle.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_hominem
Re: OT: Should i be taking the wildfire smoke AQI warning seriously?
Posted: Mon Aug 4, 2025 7:48 pm
by JaysRule15
Definitely invest in a air purifier for the house. I've felt such a huge difference in the quality of air inside.
Re: OT: Should i be taking the wildfire smoke AQI warning seriously?
Posted: Mon Aug 4, 2025 8:50 pm
by Duffman100
Remember when we were all kids and wildfires air quality warnings were a thing?
Yeah nope, I don't either. But everything is totally fine.
Re: OT: Should i be taking the wildfire smoke AQI warning seriously?
Posted: Tue Aug 5, 2025 10:58 am
by Tripod
Some might not like to hear it, but you can wear a mask when you go out.
Re: OT: Should i be taking the wildfire smoke AQI warning seriously?
Posted: Tue Aug 5, 2025 4:32 pm
by rarefind
I have a couple air purifiers in my house. I had a Airthings air meter (mainly for checking Radon) but it gives me decently accurate numbers for PM 2.5/10. The purifiers have made some pretty significant improvements overall in my home. Not saying this is needed by everyone but I am pretty comfortable having this. Days with poor air quality (even with the windows closed) leads to the quality of your air being not great inside too.
Unfortunately this is just something that we now have to deal with in the summer. Air quality should be better inside but it may not actually be drastically better (not to fear monger). Worth considering that air quality being affected from forest fires while obviously unhealthy are different from poor air coming from a factory off gassing hazardous materials. Saying the air quality is poor doesn't necessarily speak to what is in the air or how dangerous it is beyond the volume of particulate matter. Particulate matter coming from heavy metals or chemicals will be worse to our health than hydrocarbons while not great, either.
Unfortunately we're probably going to see more forest fires before we see less of them.
Particulate matter can exacerbate existing respiratory conditions. Fortunately our exposure is limited to being periodic and not something we always have to deal with. As always, consult your doctor for anything like this if you are concerned.
Re: OT: Should i be taking the wildfire smoke AQI warning seriously?
Posted: Wed Aug 6, 2025 4:39 pm
by billy_hoyle
Duffman100 wrote:Remember when we were all kids and wildfires air quality warnings were a thing?
Yeah nope, I don't either. But everything is totally fine.
Are you saying air quality was good when we were kids?
I was a Toronto kid in the eighties. Hasn't air quality improved as Canada has moved on from harsh industrial practices of the early-mid 20th century?
Since I've been an adult (and more aware of these things), I've lived in BC. Wildfires has been a thing as long as I can remember. Are you sure the news and social media aren't just amplifying disaster news?
We now have jargon like 'atmospheric river' being used commonly for what would have been called a heavy rain storm.
I think Ranger One is letting the media stoke their anxiety. I think this board is generally in-line with the liberal bias of the MSM (I.e. parrots media talking points).
Re: OT: Should i be taking the wildfire smoke AQI warning seriously?
Posted: Wed Aug 6, 2025 4:41 pm
by Duffman100
billy_hoyle wrote:Duffman100 wrote:Remember when we were all kids and wildfires air quality warnings were a thing?
Yeah nope, I don't either. But everything is totally fine.
Are you saying air quality was good when we were kids?
I was a Toronto kid in the eighties. Hasn't air quality improved as Canada has moved on from harsh industrial practices of the early-mid 20th century?
Since I've been an adult (and more aware of these things), I've lived in BC. Wildfires has been a thing as long as I can remember. Are you sure the news and social media aren't just amplifying disaster news?
We now have jargon like 'atmospheric river' being used commonly for what would have been called a heavy rain storm.
I think Ranger One is letting the media stoke their anxiety. I think this board is generally in-line with the liberal bias of the MSM (I.e. parrots media talking points).
I'm saying in Ontario (at least), being told to stay inside for air quality reasons because of wildfires wasn't a regular occurence at all in the 80, 90s or even early 200s. Nor was smelling wildfire in the air.
That is new and not a 'liberal bias'. Wildfires have increased in Canada.
Re: OT: Should i be taking the wildfire smoke AQI warning seriously?
Posted: Wed Aug 6, 2025 4:53 pm
by billy_hoyle
Duffman100 wrote:billy_hoyle wrote:Duffman100 wrote:Remember when we were all kids and wildfires air quality warnings were a thing?
Yeah nope, I don't either. But everything is totally fine.
Are you saying air quality was good when we were kids?
I was a Toronto kid in the eighties. Hasn't air quality improved as Canada has moved on from harsh industrial practices of the early-mid 20th century?
Since I've been an adult (and more aware of these things), I've lived in BC. Wildfires has been a thing as long as I can remember. Are you sure the news and social media aren't just amplifying disaster news?
We now have jargon like 'atmospheric river' being used commonly for what would have been called a heavy rain storm.
I think Ranger One is letting the media stoke their anxiety. I think this board is generally in-line with the liberal bias of the MSM (I.e. parrots media talking points).
I'm saying in Ontario (at least), being told to stay inside for air quality reasons because of wildfires wasn't a regular occurence at all in the 80, 90s or even early 200s. Nor was smelling wildfire in the air.
That is new and not a 'liberal bias'. Wildfires have increased in Canada.
I'm aware. Is the wildfire increase proportional to increased population? Does that change the fact that the air quality is improving from when we were kids?
I definitely experienced more wildfire smoke in the Van/Vic region 10 - 15 years ago. How does my city dependent experience have anything to do wildfires at large? Sorry, I'm just confused why you are using a location dependent wildfire experience and sarcastically saying "things are fine"?
These samples are small, you don't know if this is fine or not. I could say Vic and Van are getting better based on multiple summer smoke outs from over a decade ago.
Ranger One is asking if things are fine. You are on here here implying they are not.
I think he should consult a physician and not listen to you, me, or the news
Re: OT: Should i be taking the wildfire smoke AQI warning seriously?
Posted: Wed Aug 6, 2025 4:59 pm
by Duffman100
billy_hoyle wrote:Duffman100 wrote:billy_hoyle wrote:
Are you saying air quality was good when we were kids?
I was a Toronto kid in the eighties. Hasn't air quality improved as Canada has moved on from harsh industrial practices of the early-mid 20th century?
Since I've been an adult (and more aware of these things), I've lived in BC. Wildfires has been a thing as long as I can remember. Are you sure the news and social media aren't just amplifying disaster news?
We now have jargon like 'atmospheric river' being used commonly for what would have been called a heavy rain storm.
I think Ranger One is letting the media stoke their anxiety. I think this board is generally in-line with the liberal bias of the MSM (I.e. parrots media talking points).
I'm saying in Ontario (at least), being told to stay inside for air quality reasons because of wildfires wasn't a regular occurence at all in the 80, 90s or even early 200s. Nor was smelling wildfire in the air.
That is new and not a 'liberal bias'. Wildfires have increased in Canada.
I'm aware. Is the wildfire increase proportional to increased population? Does that change the fact that the air quality is improving from when we were kids?
I definitely experienced more wildfire smoke in the Van/Vic region 10 - 15 years ago. How does my city dependent experience have anything to do wildfires at large? Sorry, I'm just confused why you are using a location dependent wildfire experience and sarcastically saying "things are fine"?
These samples are small, you don't know if this is fine or not. I could say Vic and Van are getting better based on multiple summer smoke outs from over a decade ago.
Ranger One is asking if things are fine. You are on here here implying they are not.
I think he should consult a physician and not listen to you, me, or the news
Because things aren't fine. As a whole based on multiple studies. I can source them and share, but I'm assuming you'll just dismiss them as 'liberal bias / funded'.
He doesn't have to consult a physician, that's the entire point of having official air quality reports.
Re: OT: Should i be taking the wildfire smoke AQI warning seriously?
Posted: Wed Aug 6, 2025 5:38 pm
by billy_hoyle
Duffman100 wrote:billy_hoyle wrote:Duffman100 wrote:
I'm saying in Ontario (at least), being told to stay inside for air quality reasons because of wildfires wasn't a regular occurence at all in the 80, 90s or even early 200s. Nor was smelling wildfire in the air.
That is new and not a 'liberal bias'. Wildfires have increased in Canada.
I'm aware. Is the wildfire increase proportional to increased population? Does that change the fact that the air quality is improving from when we were kids?
I definitely experienced more wildfire smoke in the Van/Vic region 10 - 15 years ago. How does my city dependent experience have anything to do wildfires at large? Sorry, I'm just confused why you are using a location dependent wildfire experience and sarcastically saying "things are fine"?
These samples are small, you don't know if this is fine or not. I could say Vic and Van are getting better based on multiple summer smoke outs from over a decade ago.
Ranger One is asking if things are fine. You are on here here implying they are not.
I think he should consult a physician and not listen to you, me, or the news
Because things aren't fine. As a whole based on multiple studies. I can source them and share, but I'm assuming you'll just dismiss them as 'liberal bias / funded'.
He doesn't have to consult a physician, that's the entire point of having official air quality reports.
Sure.
Let's trust the internet moderator on interpreting data.
He says things aren't fine, he's the authority on the matter. There is no need to seek a personalized risk assessment from a doctor. Stay inside. Hide from the wildfire particulates. You will obviously have life altering effects from this. Avoid campfires as well. Those are guaranteed death.