Smoke from wildfires burning in northern Alberta rolled into Calgary over the weekend and by Tuesday, the air quality lowered to a moderate health risk, which is where it also sat on Wednesday.
Although most people wouldn’t be affected by the smoky weather, Alberta Health Services says to check with a physician or other health-care provider if lungs are feeling irritated and breathing becomes difficult.
Another hot and hazy summer season is likely for Calgary, following the smokiest summer on record.
In 2018, the city recorded over 300 hours of smoke in the air and that pushed the Air Quality Health Index off the charts.
Above: Smoke records from Environment Canada from Aug. 20, 2018.
When looking at the lack of sufficient moisture across the province, along with a warmer than average summer in the forecast, it seems another active season is to be expected.
“It doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to be a worse fire season, but it would seem to indicate that,” said Blaine Lowry, a meteorologist with Environment Canada and Climate Change.
However, Lowry warned it is difficult to predict exactly what kind of wildfire season to expect for the province because there are so many variables to consider.
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