Environment and Climate Change Canada Air Quality Statement – June 10, 2025
Environment and Climate Change Canada has issued an Air Quality Statement for several areas of the HAMP Airshed due to wildfire smoke coming into the region.
Airshed Residents Encouraged to Celebrate Clean Air in the Heartland
As Canada marks Clean Air Day on Wednesday, June 4, Heartland Air Monitoring Partnership (HAMP) encourages Airshed residents to celebrate as well by taking at least one action to support clean air.
Overall, air quality has remained stable or improved across the Heartland, with HAMP’s long-term trending report confirming that the region’s poorest air quality days are typically linked to major natural events such as wildfires or wintertime temperature inversions.
Read more about how you can participate in this year’s Clean Air Day here.
First Quarter Air Quality Monitoring Results in Heartland Region Remain Low-Risk to Health
Heartland Air Monitoring Partnership (HAMP) has released its air quality monitoring results for the first quarter of 2025. From January through March, Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) ratings in the region remained consistently of low risk to human health, similar to previous years.
Only three one-hour exceedances of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) were recorded, with no exceedances of any 24-hour objectives in the quarter.
Read more here.
25 Years of Grassroots Air Quality Monitoring in Alberta’s Industrial Heartland
Heartland Air Monitoring Partnership (HAMP) is proudly celebrating its 25th anniversary measuring and reporting on the air quality in and around Alberta’s Industrial Heartland to meet stakeholder and community needs.
“HAMP was formed in 2000 to respond to increasing public interest in air quality in a region with some of the most condensed industrial development in the province,” said Nadine Blaney, HAMP’s executive director. “Today our multi-stakeholder structure ensures every voice is heard, including a very strong public component of people living in the HAMP region.”
Read more here about how air monitoring changed in the Heartland with grassroots decision-making.
Heartland Air Monitoring Partnership 2024 Annual Report to the Community Released
Heartland Air Monitoring Partnership has released its 2024 Annual Report to the Community. The report highlights major improvements in air quality, a new identity for HAMP, expanded monitoring coverage, and several community engagement initiatives.
Read more about this report here.
How to Use the Air Quality Health Index During Wildfire Season
2024 showed a notable decline in higher risk to health ratings from wildfire smoke in our region, but every year typically brings at least some poor air quality days as a result of smoke from wildfires. Wildfire smoke is a complex mixture of many gases and particles, but fine particulate matter poses the main health risk.
Wildfire smoke affects everyone differently. This is why the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) is designed to help you decide whether you need to take measures, using your own situation and symptoms as a guide.
For more information about the AQHI scale and how you can determine your risk level, check here.
Reflecting on 25 Years of Air Quality Monitoring – By and For the Community
Heartland Air Monitoring Partnership celebrates 25 years of providing trusted air quality data in Alberta’s Heartland this year. We started as a grassroots effort and grew to a multi-stakeholder regional monitoring network, with representation from industry, all levels of government, and the public. This collaboration enables us to accomplish goals that any one sector alone would have great difficulty doing.
We are passionate about providing air quality information to anyone who wants access to it, building up our education and outreach over the past 25 years through workshops, community events, a school program and social media presence.
Read more about the impact of community-led air monitoring here.