Peel District School Board encourages students to ‘monitor how they are feeling’ amid poor air quality

Outdoor recess to continue, track and field cancelled, as wildfire smoke blows through Peel

Mississauga.com
June 8, 2023
Alexandra Heck

Administrators with the Peel District School Board say outdoor recess will continue over the next few days but advise students to avoid strenuous activity due to poor air quality.

Track and field events for June 7 have been cancelled due to the smoke.

Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for the area due to a haze of smoke blowing in from wildfires raging in Quebec.

“Wildfire smoke can be harmful to everyone’s health even at low concentrations,” read a statement from Environment Canada. “Continue to take actions to protect your health and reduce exposure to smoke.”

The federal body says that children, seniors, pregnant people or those with respiratory issues like asthma or heart disease are most susceptible to health impacts from the smoke.

Those symptoms may include shortness of breath, wheezing, dizziness, coughing, asthma attacks or chest pain.

“For the next few days, we encourage students to monitor how they are feeling for symptoms,” said staff in a recent statement. “The health impacts associated with poor air quality may be felt several days after the poor air quality event.”

The PDSB said it will make every effort to accommodate students who wish to stay inside due to the haze.

Poor air quality will persist into the weekend, according to Environment Canada.