Port Dover
#1≈ 0.1 vs 0.5 🚬 at homesave 0.4
▼ 19.5 µg/m³ less fine-particle pollution than Barrie right now
Observed Jul 18, 3:00 p.m. EDT
Lake Erie beach town with a palm-tree pier vibe and steady south-shore lake air.
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Barrie (you are here) Good Moderate Unhealthy (sensitive) Unhealthy+
Turkey Point
#2≈ 0.1 vs 0.5 🚬 at homesave 0.4
▼ 19.5 µg/m³ less fine-particle pollution than Barrie right now
Observed Jul 18, 3:00 p.m. EDT
Low-key Lake Erie cottage beach beside marshes and vineyards, far from major highways.
London
#3≈ 0.1 vs 0.5 🚬 at homesave 0.4
▼ 19.4 µg/m³ less fine-particle pollution than Barrie right now
Observed Jul 18, 3:00 p.m. EDT
A major Ontario city with broad lodging options and live air-quality readings for comparison when smoke shifts across the region.
Whitney
#4≈ 0.1 vs 0.5 🚬 at homesave 0.4
▼ 19.3 µg/m³ less fine-particle pollution than Barrie right now
Observed Jul 18, 3:00 p.m. EDT
Hamlet at Algonquin Park’s East Gate, with lodges and cabins on the park’s quieter side.
Stratford
#5≈ 0.1 vs 0.5 🚬 at homesave 0.4
▼ 18.9 µg/m³ less fine-particle pollution than Barrie right now
Observed Jul 18, 3:00 p.m. EDT
Festival town on the Avon River with a deep stock of inns and B&Bs.
Hamilton
#6≈ 0.1 vs 0.5 🚬 at homesave 0.4
▼ 18.4 µg/m³ less fine-particle pollution than Barrie right now
Observed Jul 18, 3:00 p.m. EDT
A major Ontario city with broad lodging options and live air-quality readings for comparison when smoke shifts across the region.
Bobcaygeon
#7≈ 0.1 vs 0.5 🚬 at homesave 0.4
▼ 18.2 µg/m³ less fine-particle pollution than Barrie right now
Observed Jul 18, 3:00 p.m. EDT
Kawartha canal town spread across three islands between Pigeon and Sturgeon lakes.
Peterborough
#8≈ 0.1 vs 0.5 🚬 at homesave 0.4
▼ 18.2 µg/m³ less fine-particle pollution than Barrie right now
Observed Jul 18, 3:00 p.m. EDT
A major Ontario city with broad lodging options and live air-quality readings for comparison when smoke shifts across the region.
Bancroft
#9≈ 0.1 vs 0.5 🚬 at homesave 0.4
▼ 17.3 µg/m³ less fine-particle pollution than Barrie right now
Observed Jul 18, 3:00 p.m. EDT
Mineral-country town on the York River between Hastings highlands and lake country.
Fenelon Falls
#10≈ 0.1 vs 0.5 🚬 at homesave 0.4
▼ 17.2 µg/m³ less fine-particle pollution than Barrie right now
Observed Jul 18, 3:00 p.m. EDT
The “Jewel of the Kawarthas,” a falls-side village on the Trent–Severn Waterway.
Oshawa
#11≈ 0.1 vs 0.5 🚬 at homesave 0.4
▼ 17 µg/m³ less fine-particle pollution than Barrie right now
Observed Jul 18, 3:00 p.m. EDT
A major Ontario city with broad lodging options and live air-quality readings for comparison when smoke shifts across the region.
Buffalo
#12≈ 0.1 vs 0.5 🚬 at homesave 0.4
▼ 16.9 µg/m³ less fine-particle pollution than Barrie right now
Observed Jul 18, 3:00 p.m. EDT
A major New York city with broad lodging options and live air-quality readings for comparison when smoke shifts across the region.
Haliburton
#13≈ 0.1 vs 0.5 🚬 at homesave 0.4
▼ 16.6 µg/m³ less fine-particle pollution than Barrie right now
Observed Jul 18, 3:00 p.m. EDT
Highlands village surrounded by hundreds of lakes and a large cottage-rental market.
Niagara-on-the-Lake
#14≈ 0.1 vs 0.5 🚬 at homesave 0.4
▼ 16.6 µg/m³ less fine-particle pollution than Barrie right now
Observed Jul 18, 3:00 p.m. EDT
Wine-country town where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario, dense with inns and B&Bs.
St. Catharines
#15≈ 0.1 vs 0.5 🚬 at homesave 0.4
▼ 16.6 µg/m³ less fine-particle pollution than Barrie right now
Observed Jul 18, 3:00 p.m. EDT
A major Ontario city with broad lodging options and live air-quality readings for comparison when smoke shifts across the region.
Brampton
#16≈ 0.1 vs 0.5 🚬 at homesave 0.4
▼ 16.5 µg/m³ less fine-particle pollution than Barrie right now
Observed Jul 18, 3:00 p.m. EDT
A major Ontario city with broad lodging options and live air-quality readings for comparison when smoke shifts across the region.
Mississauga
#17≈ 0.1 vs 0.5 🚬 at homesave 0.4
▼ 16.5 µg/m³ less fine-particle pollution than Barrie right now
Observed Jul 18, 3:00 p.m. EDT
A major Ontario city with broad lodging options and live air-quality readings for comparison when smoke shifts across the region.
Toronto
#18≈ 0.2 vs 0.5 🚬 at homesave 0.3
▼ 14.5 µg/m³ less fine-particle pollution than Barrie right now
Observed Jul 18, 3:00 p.m. EDT
A major Ontario city with broad lodging options and live air-quality readings for comparison when smoke shifts across the region.
Cobourg
#19≈ 0.2 vs 0.5 🚬 at homesave 0.3
▼ 14.5 µg/m³ less fine-particle pollution than Barrie right now
Observed Jul 18, 3:00 p.m. EDT
Victorian lakefront town with a long sandy beach an easy hop east of the GTA.
Elora
#20≈ 0.3 vs 0.5 🚬 at homesave 0.2
▼ 8.4 µg/m³ less fine-particle pollution than Barrie right now
Observed Jul 18, 3:00 p.m. EDT
Limestone village above the Elora Gorge, with a boutique mill hotel and quarry swimming.
Guelph
#21≈ 0.3 vs 0.5 🚬 at homesave 0.2
▼ 8.4 µg/m³ less fine-particle pollution than Barrie right now
Observed Jul 18, 3:00 p.m. EDT
A major Ontario city with broad lodging options and live air-quality readings for comparison when smoke shifts across the region.
St. Jacobs
#22≈ 0.3 vs 0.5 🚬 at homesave 0.2
▼ 8.4 µg/m³ less fine-particle pollution than Barrie right now
Observed Jul 18, 3:00 p.m. EDT
Mennonite-country village and market just outside Waterloo, an easy countryside reset.
Kitchener–Waterloo
#23≈ 0.3 vs 0.5 🚬 at homesave 0.2
▼ 8.4 µg/m³ less fine-particle pollution than Barrie right now
Observed Jul 18, 3:00 p.m. EDT
A major Ontario city with broad lodging options and live air-quality readings for comparison when smoke shifts across the region.
Bracebridge
#24≈ 0.4 vs 0.5 🚬 at homesave 0.1
▼ 6.5 µg/m³ less fine-particle pollution than Barrie right now
Observed Jul 18, 3:00 p.m. EDT
Waterfall town in the heart of Muskoka with a deep bench of cottages and resorts.
Huntsville
#25≈ 0.4 vs 0.5 🚬 at homesave 0.1
▼ 6.5 µg/m³ less fine-particle pollution than Barrie right now
Observed Jul 18, 3:00 p.m. EDT
Muskoka’s biggest town, ringed by lakes and resorts on the edge of Algonquin Park.
Tobermory
#26≈ 0.4 vs 0.5 🚬 at homesave 0.1
▼ 4.9 µg/m³ less fine-particle pollution than Barrie right now
Observed Jul 18, 3:00 p.m. EDT
Harbour village at the tip of the Bruce Peninsula, wrapped in open Lake Huron and Georgian Bay water with steady onshore breezes.
Gravenhurst
#27≈ 0.4 vs 0.5 🚬 at homesave 0.1
▼ 3.5 µg/m³ less fine-particle pollution than Barrie right now
Observed Jul 18, 3:00 p.m. EDT
Gateway to Muskoka on Lake Muskoka’s steamship wharf, the closest cottage country to the GTA.
Parry Sound
#28≈ 0.5 vs 0.5 🚬 at homeabout the same
Observed Jul 18, 3:00 p.m. EDT
Deep-water port on Georgian Bay’s island-studded coast, with open-bay air off the sound.
Goderich
#29≈ 0.6 vs 0.5 🚬 at homeabout the same
▲ Air is currently worse here than in Barrie
Observed Jul 18, 3:00 p.m. EDT
Lakeside county town on high Huron bluffs, often swept clear by west winds off the water.
Bayfield
#30≈ 0.6 vs 0.5 🚬 at homeabout the same
▲ Air is currently worse here than in Barrie
Observed Jul 18, 3:00 p.m. EDT
Quiet heritage village on the Lake Huron bluffs, a slower-paced alternative to the bigger beach towns.
Orillia
#31≈ 0.7 vs 0.5 🚬 at homeabout the same
▲ Air is currently worse here than in Barrie
Observed Jul 18, 3:00 p.m. EDT
Sunshine City between Lakes Couchiching and Simcoe, with a full range of waterfront stays.
Sauble Beach
#32≈ 0.7 vs 0.5 🚬 at homeabout the same
▲ Air is currently worse here than in Barrie
Observed Jul 18, 3:00 p.m. EDT
11 km of sandy Lake Huron shoreline where westerly lake winds usually keep the air moving.
Wasaga Beach
#33≈ 0.7 vs 0.5 🚬 at homeabout the same
▲ Air is currently worse here than in Barrie
Observed Jul 18, 3:00 p.m. EDT
The world’s longest freshwater beach, with open Nottawasaga Bay air along the whole strip.
Midland
#34≈ 0.8 vs 0.5 🚬 at homeabout the same
▲ Air is currently worse here than in Barrie
Observed Jul 18, 3:00 p.m. EDT
Harbour town on Georgian Bay’s 30,000 Islands shore, with bay cruises and shoreline trails.
Collingwood
#35≈ 0.8 vs 0.5 🚬 at homeabout the same
▲ Air is currently worse here than in Barrie
Observed Jul 18, 3:00 p.m. EDT
Georgian Bay harbour town at the base of the Niagara Escarpment, with bay breezes and plenty of hotels and rentals.
The Blue Mountains
#36≈ 0.8 vs 0.5 🚬 at homeabout the same
▲ Air is currently worse here than in Barrie
Observed Jul 18, 3:00 p.m. EDT
Resort village on Georgian Bay with escarpment elevation, a walkable pedestrian base and year-round lodging.
Port Elgin
#37≈ 0.9 vs 0.5 🚬 at homeabout the same
▲ Air is currently worse here than in Barrie
Observed Jul 18, 3:00 p.m. EDT
Sandy-beach base for the Saugeen Shores stretch of Lake Huron, with a full main street of services.
Kincardine
#38≈ 1.0 vs 0.5 🚬 at homeabout the same
▲ Air is currently worse here than in Barrie
Observed Jul 18, 3:00 p.m. EDT
Lake Huron harbour town with a lighthouse, boardwalk beach and reliable evening lake breezes.
23.1 µg/m³PM2.5 in Barrie right now
AQI 113 / Unhealthy for sensitive groupsAQHI 4 — Moderate risk (Barrie)Latest observation Jul 18, 3:00 p.m. EDT
Build-time readings shown
0.5cigarettes
Standing outside for 12 hours in Barrie today is roughly like smoking that many cigarettes, going by the current fine-particle pollution.
An equivalence for health impact, not literal smoking: Berkeley Earth puts a full day at 22 µg/m³ of PM2.5 at about one cigarette.How we work this out →
Why live rankings?
Smoke plumes are patchy and move with changing winds, terrain and weather. Nearby lakefront, coastal and higher-elevation places can be much clearer than Barrie, but no direction is reliably cleaner. That is why this list is recalculated from live PM2.5 readings every hour instead of publishing a fixed escape route. If everything within three hours is smoky, the rankings will say so. Sometimes the honest answer is to stay inside with a filter running.
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