Air quality advisory cancelled for Metro Vancouver as skies finally clear
Advisory in effect since Aug. 1 due to wildfires burning in B.C.'s Interior
An air quality advisory for Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley has been lifted.
On Saturday, Metro Vancouver cancelled the advisory that has been in place since Aug. 1.
"Air quality throughout the region has now improved as a result of a change in the weather pattern," the regional authority said in a statement.
Much of the region has been sitting under hazy skies due to wildfires in the Interior of B.C. Winds pushed smoke from those fires to the South Coast.
The haze prompted concerns about elevated concentrations of fine particulate matter and, at times, higher than usual concentrations of ground level ozone.
Is that... A blue sky?! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bcwildfire?src=hash">#bcwildfire</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bcwildfires?src=hash">#bcwildfires</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/vancouver?src=hash">#vancouver</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/smoke?src=hash">#smoke</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/haze?src=hash">#haze</a> <a href="https://t.co/DLu54wduoN">pic.twitter.com/DLu54wduoN</a>
—@simonplittleOn Thursday, Environment Canada forecast that southwesterly winds over the weekend would push some of the smoke out of the region.
A cold front is also on its way which should help tamp down particulates in the air.
The air in the Central Fraser Valley was at one point rated at 10 on a scale of 10, considered a "high risk," on the Air Quality Health Index.
But on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. PT, the rating was down to 1.
Areas closer to wildfire zones, such as Quesnel in the B.C. Interior are still rated very high at 11, considered a "very high risk."
B.C. Wildfire Service says the amount of earth scorched this fire season so far is the second highest since 1950 — at twice the size of Greater Vancouver.
