Less Wildfire Smoke in 2024 Leads to Better Air Quality in Second Quarter
From April through June 2024, Heartland Air Monitoring Partnership (HAMP) recorded 14,569 hours of air monitoring data for use in calculating the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) at seven stations in our Airshed. Results show the AQHI in the HAMP Airshed measured a low risk to health at least 96% of the time for April, May and June, except on May 11 and 12, when wildfire smoke from northeastern British Columbia resulted in very high risk AQHI hours.
Read the full story here.
Air Quality Advisory (July 20, 2024)
Environment Canada, Alberta Environment and Protected Areas, Alberta Health, Alberta Health Services have continued an air quality advisory due to wildfire smoke causing or expected to cause very poor air quality and reduced visibility. Air quality and visibility due to wildfire smoke can fluctuate over short distances and can vary considerably from hour to hour. The combination of heat and very poor air quality in smoke will increase the risk to your health. Get more details on the alert and affected areas here.
Read more about wildfire smoke and air quality impacts in our article here.
Fort Air Partnership Unveils New Name
We are excited to announce that Fort Air Partnership has a new name. Effective May 14, your local organization responsible for monitoring the air quality in the Industrial Heartland and surrounding area, is called Heartland Air Monitoring Partnership.
The new name will appear first on our digital channels, and more gradually on physical station signage over the longer term. Learn more about what led to our name change here.
How to Prepare for Smoke and Air Quality Impacts During Wildfire Season
When concentrations rise to record levels like we saw in our Airshed in 2023, it’s important to assess how the air quality may affect your health and decide if you need to take precautions.
New in 2024, Alberta is also implementing a revised AQHI that will provide earlier health risk warnings to Albertans during exceptional or rapidly changing wildfire events. Read more about how to use the AQHI and the new change here.