Wildfire smoke, extreme heat continue to steamroll N.W.T. communities

Norman Wells, N.W.T., ranked again as the most polluted community in Canada Tuesday, a dubious distinction with which the town is starting to become familiar.

Wildfire smoke has been blasting much of the territory lately, with air quality advisories in nearly every community Tuesday morning. It comes at a time when the territory is also coping with record-breaking heat.

Several different air quality trackers had N.W.T. communities at the top of their lists Tuesday as having the worst air quality in the country.

The N.W.T. Air Quality Monitoring Network showed levels of some air contaminants in Norman Wells and Yellowknife as being much higher than usual.

IQAir listed Norman Wells' air quality as very unhealthy and significantly worse than other communities it tracks in Canada. The Mackenzie Valley town of about 700 has topped the list at least twice this month, including on July 5 when it was hit by both smoke and 30 C temperatures. 

Meanwhile, air quality monitors installed in numerous N.W.T. communities showed the territory's air as being the worst in the country.

The smoke in Norman Wells and other northern N.W.T. communities is primarily coming from fires burning in the region. Meanwhile, the southern N.W.T. is experiencing smoke from local fires as well as fires in northern B.C. and northern Alberta. 

A website that tracks wildfire smoke showed thick blankets of it moving through northern Alberta and the N.W.T. Smoky conditions have even circulated in Nunavut, where residents of Sanikiluaq, in Hudson Bay, have been living with smoky skies for the past two weeks.

Environment Canada had special air quality statements in place Tuesday for all N.W.T. communities except those in the Beaufort Delta.

Heat warnings and records

Many communities also had heat warnings Tuesday, including Fort Good Hope, Fort Providence, Kakisa, Fort Simpson, Jean Marie River, Wrigley, Norman Wells and Tulita.

Sachs Harbour and Ulukhaktok, the territory's northernmost communities, were also under a heat warning due to "abnormally warm temperatures," the weather service said. 

Temperatures in Sachs Harbour are expected to reach 22 C Tuesday. That follows the community's new daily maximum reached on Monday at 24.8 C, according to Environment Canada. The previous daily record in the High Arctic community was 21 C in 1989.

Ulukhaktok was forecast to hit 23 C Tuesday, after setting its own daily record at 23.4 C Monday, breaking the 2007 high of 21 C. 

Earlier this month, the communities of Norman Wells and Fort Good Hope saw all-time maximum temperature records, meaning they experienced their hottest temperature ever recorded, regardless of the day, with 37.9 C in Norman Wells and 37.4 C in Fort Good Hope.

The air quality situation prompted a public health advisory Monday afternoon from the N.W.T.'s office of the chief public health officer.

That advisory said the high levels of particles known as PM2.5 in the air right now "[pose] a risk to the health of the community members."

It advised people to get checked out at their local health centre if they have serious symptoms like wheezing, chest discomfort or shortness of breath.