Air quality check
Hourly modelled air quality for downtown Ottawa in plain language — and where to find Environment Canada's official AQHI when wildfire smoke moves in.
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Hourly modelled air quality for downtown Ottawa in plain language — and where to find Environment Canada's official AQHI when wildfire smoke moves in.
Today's modelled air quality for downtown Ottawa, updated hourly. On smoke days, Environment Canada's AQHI carries the official health guidance — link at the bottom of this page.
Fair Fine for being outside, including exercise, for almost everyone.
| Day | Air quality |
|---|---|
| Sat 13 Jun | Fair |
| Sun 14 Jun | Fair |
| Mon 15 Jun | Fair |
| Tue 16 Jun | Fair |
Ottawa's worst air days now come from wildfire smoke drifting in from fires elsewhere in Ontario, Quebec and beyond. In June 2023 the official index hit the top of its scale and Ottawa briefly had the worst air of any major city in the world; another smoke advisory covered the city in August 2025. On smoky days: close windows, ease off hard outdoor exercise, and check on people with heart or lung conditions.
This page shows the European air quality index from a global atmosphere model (Copernicus CAMS) — a good area-wide estimate, not a street monitor. Canada's official health index is the AQHI (cote air santé, 1 to 10+), published by Environment and Climate Change Canada with specific advice for Ottawa. When the two disagree on a bad-air day, trust the AQHI.
The pollen model behind this tool only covers Europe, so we don't show pollen numbers for Ottawa rather than show figures we can't stand behind.
Updated 12 June at 8:32. These are modelled estimates for the area around downtown Ottawa, not readings from a street monitor — air right beside a busy road can be worse than the area-wide picture. Official forecast: weather.gc.ca. Air quality data by Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0), based on Copernicus CAMS.