Temperatures are being suppressed by thick smoke in the Okanagan that deteriorated to its worst level so far in 2018 on Monday.
The air quality health index is ranked on a scale from 1 to 10 and once wind directions aloft switched directions from southwesterly to northwesterly over the weekend with some rain, values plunged back to off-the-chart levels.
There are hundreds of fires in northwest BC that are generating copious amounts of smoke that were previously shuttling it onto the prairies but with the change of wind are swinging it south into the Okanagan.
The air quality health index sat at a 10+ from midday Sunday right through Monday afternoon, which correlates to a very high health risk.
That level of a health risk means that even the general population is advised to reduce or reschedule strenuous outdoor activities, especially if experiencing symptoms like coughing and throat irritation.
Visibility dropped to one kilometre in Kelowna on Monday with the thick smoke continuing to roll in from a northwesterly wind.
Environment Canada has continued a special air quality statement that has been in effect in much of the valley for nearly a month straight.
A westerly flow will start to kick in on Tuesday in the mid-levels of the atmosphere where the smoke tends to float, which will gradually start to improve the air quality situation.
It does take time though with that particular wind direction, as much of the smoke can get stuck in the valley; however, cutting off the main flow of the worst smoke will help improve the situation.
The smoke is trapping much of the sun’s energy and inhibiting daytime heating across the region, which kept temperatures in the mid-20s on Monday.
They will return to the upper 20s on Tuesday with the hazy conditions continuing before pushing back into the low 30s for the remainder of the week under mostly sunny skies as smoke continues to clear.
There is still some uncertainty with the weekend outlook. However, at this point a few more clouds look like they’ll be rolling in on Saturday, but highs should hold in the low 30s into the weekend.
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