With smoke pouring out of fires in B.C.'s interior during the largest and one of the most destructive fire seasons recorded in Canada Vancouver's air has stayed relatively clear until this weekend.
However, as winds changed directions, smoke has come west to the coast and blanketed the city, triggering air quality statements for the region.
Typically Vancouver has fairly good air compared to the world's major cities, but wildfires can cause it to leap to the top of the table for worst air.
Aug. 20 is one of those days.
The smoke caused some parts of Metro Vancouver to peak at 10+ on the government's air quality health scale (which is the worst rating). At the same time, due to those winds, some places with fires nearby, like Kamloops, are relatively low (a 2 at the time of publication).
On IQAir's ranking of major cities in the world Vancouver has spent much of the day in the top 10 as far as worst air quality; currently, it's ninth. The international ranking uses an American scale and puts Vancouver (and Seattle) at 115; the only other city in the Americas with worse air is Portland at 122. The scale goes from 0 to 300+ with anything over 100 considered "unhealthy for sensitive groups."
If the scale hits 150 the air quality is considered a health risk for everybody and members of the general public may experience health effects. Only two cities in the world pass that threshold right now: Doha, Qatar and Lahore, Pakistan.
Bad sun rising over Vancouver… pic.twitter.com/zqw07MGQvO
— Brendan Kergin (@BKergin) August 20, 2023
