A fine particulate matter Air Quality Advisory for Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley Regional District that had been in effect since Sept. 8 has been lifted.
According to a Metro Vancouver news release, air quality in the area improved Saturday, due to a weather pattern that drew cleaner marine air into the region. That improvement also prompted Environment Canada on Saturday afternoon to cancel the special air quality statements it had issued for the region earlier this month.
The local government warned that despite a significant decrease in fine particulate matter concentrations, Metro Vancouverites could still see "pockets of local smoke" in parts of the region. "Smoke concentrations can vary as winds and temperatures change," the release added.
But as Vancouver skies grow clearer, conditions across the mountains and the rest of Western Canada were expected to worsen.
The smoke from wildfires burning in California, Oregon and Washington state that has blanketed skies in Southwest B.C. for the better part of two weeks caused officials to issue respiratory health warnings that extended into southern Alberta and as far east as Saskatchewan Saturday, including for Jasper and Banff national parks.
Environment Canada said smoke began clearing across the western half of Vancouver Island early Saturday and said locals could expect widespread improvements further east by Sunday.
When Metro Vancouver's air quality was at its worse, the region's Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) ranking was listed at 10, or Very High. According to an app called Sh**t! I Smoke, which converts air quality into the number of cigarettes a person will 'smoke' in a day simply by breathing the air, Vancouverites were at one point "smoking" a staggering 8.3 cigarettes daily, merely by breathing the air outside.
The poor air quality—which consistently saw Vancouver's air quality ranked among the worst in the world—even prompted the City of Vancouver and Vancouver Park Board to provide “cleaner air spaces" for those looking for relief.
- With files from the Canadian Press and Elana Shepert
