Air quality in Vaughan

Is Vaughan a city with air pollution problems?

Vaughan is a city located in Ontario, one of Canada’s thirteen provinces. It is situated just north of Toronto, and was counted amongst one of the top fastest growing cities in the region, with a population that increased massively over the last few decades, and is currently home to some 306 thousand inhabitants. Much like many cities in the greater Toronto region, Vaughan is subject to four distinct seasons throughout the year. These factors can play a part in air quality levels, with meteorological conditions such as wind, rainfall, temperature and humidity levels all having their part to play in whether air pollution can accumulate and build up, or be dispersed. Geographical features also factor into this as well, as well as urban topography.

In the early months of 2021, PM2.5 readings ranging between lows of 3.1 μg/m³ and highs of 10.1 μg/m³ were recorded. This puts its average at below 10 μg/m³, something that would make the city of Vaughan eligible to be classed as falling within the World Health Organizations (WHO's) target goal of 10 μg/m³ or less, for the best quality of air. Generally, as one would expect, the closer any given reading is to 0, the more optimal it is. These readings taken in early 2021 are indicative that Vaughan has a very good quality of air, much like many cities throughout Canada. However, with readings that drifted slightly above 10 μg/m³, it stands to reason that Vaughan could reduce its pollution levels further and have an even more optimal quality of air.

What are some of the causes of pollution and reduced air quality in Vaughan?

Vaughan is a city with a large amount of transport and business infrastructure, as well as also catering towards the sports and entertainment industry. With a large amount of investment occurring in manufacturing industries, along with large amounts of trade and tourism, there would be a subsequent rise in air pollution levels due to the large scale movement of both people as well as industrial goods and materials.

With this in mind, automobiles would have a large part to play in the reduction of air quality in the city. There are tens of thousands of vehicles inhabiting the roads every single day, each contributing to multiple different types of pollutants and fine particulate matter. This is for personal vehicles alone, and does not take into account the multitude of heavy duty vehicles such as trucks, lorries, buses and even snow clearing vehicles during the colder months. Many of these run on diesel fuels, and due to their larger size and considerable weight, can put out far more smoke and pollution than a conventional vehicle would. Other sources would be ones such as factory emissions, as well as that of power plants and other similar industrial zones, all of which usually utilize coal to provide a majority of their energy and as such put out large amounts of smoke and haze.

What are some of the main types of pollution found in the air in Vaughan?

With much of its pollution sources coming from the typical causes present in Canada, Vaughan would have much of its pollution related to the use of vehicles, as well as the other aforementioned sources such as industrial areas (many of which utilize diesel fuels for their heavy machinery as well as coal to provide energy for a sizeable and growing population).

Sources such as these release pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and sulfur dioxide (SO₂). Both of these will find a majority of their release from the various vehicles on the roads, as well as being formed as a secondary pollutant through the bonding of other types of pollution already present in the air, such as the various oxides of nitrogen. Nitrogen dioxide is released in such quantities from vehicles that areas that see larger amounts of traffic, such as busy intersections or rush hour roads, almost always have a higher level of nitrogen dioxide present on the ground level or the air above. Other pollutants include ones such as black carbon, volatile organic compounds (VOC's) polychlorinated biphenyls, rubber particles (released from tires) and microplastics.

When is pollution at its worst in Vaughan?

As is seen in many seasonal cities in Canada, as well as throughout the world, there is often a direct correlation between certain months of the year and the subsequent PM2.5 quantities found in the air. Whilst the colder months are typically when the pollution levels rise higher, of note is that the hotter summer months can also suffer from their own forms of pollution, with instances of smog being formed (another name for ozone, or O₃, which whilst it plays a vital role in the upper atmosphere, but becomes a dangerous pollutant when on ground level). This can be formed from certain chemicals such as the aforementioned oxides of nitrogen (NOx) being exposed to high amounts of solar radiation, undergoing chemical reactions and converting into ozone.

Due to an increased demand for power to heat homes and businesses during the winter months, as well as occurrences of people burning wood, charcoal and other materials to provide heat in their homes, there is a correlating rise with air pollution as a result due to this demand placed on the industrial zones, hence making the winter period the time when the PM2.5 count would be at its highest, typically peaking between November through to January of the following year.

What are some health problems that can arise from pollution in Vaughan?

Similar to many cities throughout the country, Vaughan is subject to a good quality of air throughout the year, only occasionally seeing rises in its pollution levels, and when compared to many of the worlds more polluted cities, its readings pale in comparison. However, any reading of PM2.5 has the ability to cause adverse health effects, and certain areas such as the aforementioned busy intersections or areas with high traffic, or even industrial areas, can see sudden spikes in their PM2.5 levels and may prove to be a danger to those living nearby.

Some of these conditions would be mainly respiratory related ones such as increased instances of coughs, asthma attacks and even heightened rates of both throat and lung cancer. Other conditions would be a variety of pulmonary disorders such as bronchitis, emphysema, pneumonia as well as a reduction in full lung function. These are a few of the possible health conditions that may occur when one is over exposed to pollution in Vaughan, and as such individuals should be mindful during times of higher pollution, despite the majority of the year having a very good quality of air and thus mostly safe to breathe.