Special air quality statements in place across Saskatchewan

Special air quality statements remained in place Tuesday morning for areas of Saskatchewan, including Regina.

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) said wildfire smoke was affecting the air quality and visibility for a band across the southern part of Saskatchewan as far north as Davidson and for much of the province north of Prince Albert.

Natalie Hasell, a warning preparedness meteorologist with ECCC, said it wouldn’t surprise her if the smoke lasted past Tuesday.

“We don’t really forecast smoke after that period of time,” she said, “although the winds do change when we get to late on Wednesday.”

The meteorologist recommended that people check the Air Quality Health Index before they head outside, adding areas that aren’t under special air quality statements are not necessarily smoke-free.

“Instead of (an) air quality statement, you have the terms ‘widespread smoke’ in the forecast,” Hasell said.

Wildfires burning in the Northwest Territories, Alberta and B.C. have sent smoke into Saskatchewan for weeks now, prompting Environment Canada to issue special air quality statements to this province. Wildfires in northern Saskatchewan also have been affecting the air quality.

According to the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency, there were 21 active fires burning in the province as of Tuesday morning. All 21 are rated as “ongoing assessment,” meaning the fire is being monitored regularly to assess the risk to values in the area.

ECCC reminded people to reduce their exposure to smoke if possible, especially those who are vulnerable to its effects.

“Take a break from the smoke by temporarily relocating or finding a location in your community with clean, cool air such as a library, shopping mall or community centre,” the advisory said.

In addition to the special air quality statement, the weather office also put heat warnings in place for areas in the northwest part of the province, including regions around Lloydminster and La Loche.

Hasell said no temperature records were broken on Monday and she doesn’t expect any record-breaking temperatures on Tuesday.

“It’s above normal across most of Saskatchewan,” she said. “(The) northwest, northeast and central-east are in a different airmass, so (they’ll) probably see still warm temperatures, but not quite as warm as the areas starting from the southwest corner and moving into the southeast and the central-west areas.”

Hasell added the province is under the influence of a ridge of high pressure at the surface and an upper ridge.

“The position of the low pressure systems at the surface are also allowing circulation to bring this warm air into the majority of Saskatchewan, so we have a very different kind of setup than we would if this were a normal year,” she said.

Hasell added temperatures should begin to drop on Thursday.

More information is available on the ECCC alerts page.