Where’s the smoke in Edmonton coming from?

[00:00:00]Many areas, if not all, in central and northern Alberta this morning are under air quality warnings. Edmonton is currently blanketed by wildfire smoke, and the air quality health index has been at 10 pretty much all morning, which is high risk. Where is all of this wildfire smoke coming from?

[00:00:16]>> The smoke we're experiencing right now is primarily coming from the Northwest Territories. There's widespread fires that are emitting lots of smoke that is moving its way um south from the NWT.

[00:00:27]>> Now, I understand this is because of what's called a northerly flow. What is a northerly flow?

[00:00:32]>> So, this comes down to the larger weather synoptic pattern, and it's the upper-level winds. So, the upper-level winds right now are from north to south, and that's what's bringing those uh that smoke down.

[00:00:46]Um lots of time we're used to getting smoke from BC, and that's when we're in a southwesterly flow. Um so, this one's just a little bit of a different pattern than maybe we're typically used to.

[00:00:53]>> Is this a common flow though? We've likely seen something like this before.

[00:00:58]>> Yeah, we do experience it. Um primarily we do get that southwesterly flow, but of course we can get that northerly or even an easterly flow bringing in smoke from the fires in Saskatchewan.

[00:01:07]>> How long are these smoky conditions expected to last?

[00:01:11]>> So, right now we're forecasting that that large-scale wind pattern is going to shift tonight into tomorrow. So, that source of smoke is going to be cut off.

[00:01:22]However, we're at the surface there's high pressure, which means there'll be light winds. So, there's not a great like wind source to disperse that smoke that's already here. Um so, although we think that the smoke should improve tomorrow, uh we're not certain exactly how much it will improve. So, like I said, that source region's cut off, but there's still the existing smoke that moved into the area.

[00:01:44]>> And I guess it all depends too on the conditions of the wildfires as well. If they kick upward, then that could also lead to a bit more smoke in the skies.

[00:01:53]>> Yeah, smoke forecasting is very difficult because you're not only forecasting the weather, but you're also forecasting the fires themselves. So, there could be new fires.

[00:02:02]There could be explosive fires, or there could be less. And also, even though our winds are going to shift, there's still fires in BC. They exploded over the weekend. So, we could be getting smoke in from different regions, even though it's not no longer coming from the Northwest Territories.

[00:02:19]>> How long have these fires been burning in the Northwest Territories?

[00:02:22]>> Yeah, I went back and checked, and it looks like mid-May is when the first fires popped up, and it really expanded by end of June. So, it's really quite a dire situation up there. It's quite widespread.

[00:02:36]>> And this is because of dry conditions, right? Because I even though we've seen quite a bit of rainfall here and in northern Alberta, it hasn't quite reached the territories in the same way.

[00:02:44]Is that right?

[00:02:45]>> Exactly. They've experienced quite a bit of heat, not very much precipitation, which has just lent itself to like an explosive wildfire season again this year.

[00:02:54]>> What precautions can we take then to prevent health-related issues or health issues related, I should say, to wildfire smoke?

[00:03:02]>> So, there's a few things you can do. One is that like your sight and your smell isn't an indicator of what the air quality is.

[00:03:10]So, do monitor the AQHI index to see how bad it is. And if we have an alert out, we do ask that people take precautions.

[00:03:18]So, either reduce or reschedule outdoor activities.

[00:03:23]If you do need to be outdoors, wearing a mask can help reduce how much of those PM2.5 particles you're ingesting.

[00:03:30]In your home, if you can close your windows, that is really great. Also, if you have a HEPA filter running in your home, that can help reduce the smoke particles that are entering your home.

[00:03:42]>> It's interesting that you say that about how smell is not necessarily an indicator cuz I think a lot of us when we walk outside, you smell that smoke, you think, "Oh, the air quality must be terrible." Why is that? Why is that not a great indicator of what we're experiencing?

[00:03:55]>> I think everybody's sensitivity is slightly different. That is one part of it. And it's sometimes that there's still a lot of those small particles around even though there's no longer the odor. So the winds may have moved the odor out but they're actually still around and we can still be adjusting them.