Breathing a little more easily in Vancouver today?
The Air Quality Index for Metro Vancouver has experienced a radical drop down to safer levels just in the first couple of hours of Thursday's workday alone.
While at 5 a.m. Thursday the region was charted at a 10+ Very High Risk level, by 6 a.m. the plus was removed and it went to a 10 (High Risk). From 7 to 9 a.m. Metro Vancouver's air was deemed a Moderate Risk in the 6-4 level, and by 10 a.m. we've gone down to a 3 on the AQI, which represents a Low Risk.
Cooler temps and some drizzle are offering relief to our lungs--though this small amount of moisture won't bring significant respite to firefighters across the province when it comes to stopping wildfire flames.
Thursday's forecast calls for a mix of sun and cloud and a chance of showers into the night and Friday morning.
Those clouds and the chance of rain hovers through the weekend and into next week, with temps in the 18-20C zone for Vancouver--much cooler than we've experienced this month.
Today's air is a far cry from what we endured in the region Wednesday, with smoke blanketing Metro Vancouver in a problematic haze.