Smoke may not leave us until September: Environment Canada

The answer? Not soon.

“We will see a slight shift in the winds over the weekend, which may help temporarily alleviate the air quality issues,” said MacDonald. “But as long as these wildfires keep burning, we’re going to be stuck with the smoke.”

MacDonald notes there are wildfires burning in every corner of the province, and even beyond our borders, meaning even a shift in the wind doesn’t guarantee clear air.

“Even if the winds shift to the northwest, we’ll be getting winds from the Central Interior and northwest. Earlier in the summer, we saw wildfire smoke from as far as Alaska and Siberia. We’ve also seen the smoke drift northwards across the border from California and Oregon. In any direction you look in western North America, there are wildfires burning.”

Rain might provide some relief, but MacDonald says there is no rain in the forecast.

“This is a difficult time of year to get any sizeable weather system delivering precipitation. We might just have to wait until September,” said MacDonald.

The choking smoke has resulted in air quality advisories in place over much of the province for much of the past two weeks.

“We’re under this very resilient, stable pattern and as long as this ridge doesn’t move along, we’re going to be stuck under this smoke for quite a while,” said MacDonald.

by James Peters

Smoke may not leave us until September: Environment Canada

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