Smoke spewing from fires burning in northern B.C. and Alberta has drifted south, offering up some of the worst air quality in the world to both neighbouring and further-flung communities.
To offer some perspective on how toxic current air conditions are, an online air quality monitoring site, IQ Air, ranks large cities around the world.
According to it, the dirtiest air to breathe could be found in Baghdad, Iraq, which had an Air Quality Index rating of 283. Next came Lahore, Pakistan with a rating of 155, then Delhi, India with a rating of 154.
B.C. cities are currently putting those smoggy centres to shame.
In Fort. St. John, for example, IQAir said the Air Quality Index is 369, which makes for what they deem to be hazardous conditions, worse than Baghdad, for Thursday.
Far from the source, the PM2.5 air pollution level in the Central Okanagan stacked up to an index rating of 171, which would make it the second most toxic around the globe, if included in the ranking.
“PM2.5 concentration in Kelowna is currently 18.8 times the World Health Organization’s annual air quality guideline value,” according to the site, advising running an air purifier, closing windows to avoid dirty air and outdoor exercise.
The IQ Air website said the AQI readings in Kelowna have been worse. In 2021, it came in as high as 260 in late July of 2021.
“This is a considerably elevated reading, placed within the ‘very unhealthy’ rating bracket, which requires a US AQI reading of 150.5 to 250.4 to be classified as such,” according to the site.
The difference between these cities and the worst in the world, however, is that poor air quality in B.C. is a relatively shortlived phenomenon. That said, while it’s not unusual for the air quality in the Okanagan to take a nosedive, the timing is different.
“This is early in the year to have a smoky skies bulletin in this region of the province. We have issued bulletins in other regions of the province in May in prior years, but this is really an early start for this area of the province,” Annie Seagram, Air Quality Meteorologist, at the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy said.
“Right now, if you were to look at fine particulate matter levels, or PM2.5, they are quite elevated, and that’s what causes the air quality health index to be quite elevated as well. Right now we see that those levels are in the moderate to very high-risk categories. But this changes on an hour-by-hour basis.”
Seagram said B.C. has been under high-pressure conditions and wind has been blowing in from the north.
“But we are expecting a shift in those winds, which should help alleviate some of those smoky conditions,” she said.
Until conditions improve, potentially on Friday, it’s advised that life around the valley be adjusted.
Exercise should be restricted and those with health issues are being asked to stay outdoors. Even local schools limited non-essential outdoor activities, meaning students will stay indoors at recess and the noon hour today for other activities.
“While we always want to get the benefits of being outside for physical activity, it is important that children not take on strenuous outdoor activity during high-risk conditions,” Supt. Kevin Kaardal, the Supt. of Central Okanagan Schools said.
“Short-term exposure to smoke can cause irritation of the airways. Even children who have healthy airways may be affected with mild cough, sore throat, wheezy breathing, eye irritation, runny nose, increased phlegm production, and headaches. Persons with lung conditions, such as asthma, or heart conditions, can experience exacerbations, so they should take extra precautions to reduce exposure to poor air quality.”
On Wednesday, Global BC meteorologist Kristi Gordon said the smoke was from northern B.C. due to a northerly flow of air. Depending on which way the wind blows, she said smoke could linger through the weekend.
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