By James Peters

Get used to the smoke: meteorologist

Jul 26, 2018 | 9:54 AM

KAMLOOPS — It could still be a couple of days before the smoke we’re seeing in Kamloops drifts away.

Air Quality Meteorologist Ralph Adams with the B.C. Ministry of Environment says it will likely be 24 to 48 hours minimum.

“The weather systems are shifting. There’s a bridge developing, which is what’s starting to give us these very high conditions with calm winds. It remains to be seen whether that ridge acts to block the smoke moving in, or if it acts to trap the smoke near the ground.”

Purple Air monitors throughout Kamloops show readings of well over 100 micrograms-per-cubic-metre of particulate matter in the air.

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Adams says there is a debate among his colleagues about where the smoke is originating.

“One group of people is convinced it’s coming all the way from Scandinavia or Siberia,” said Adams. “However, there are also fires burning in the Yukon and there are large fires burning in Manitoba and Ontario.”

What is clear, according to Adams, is that the smoke is not local.

He says satellite photos Wednesday showed the smoke drifting in over the province from north to south.