Don’t Miss the Chance to Join Us in Celebrating Our 25th Anniversary – RSVP Deadline is April 28
Join us on May 12 for our 25th Anniversary Open House and Reception, which will follow our Annual General Meeting.
Visit with our Airshed members, hear how air monitoring has changed over the past 25 years and enjoy refreshments. Take home a few giveaways in celebration of this milestone!
Click here for more details.
The Local Fort Resident Honoured by the Keith Purves Portable Air Monitoring Station
Heartland Air Monitoring Partnership proudly celebrates Fort Saskatchewan resident Keith Purves, for whom the Keith Purves Portable Air Monitoring Station is named. His dedication to clean air and community spirit earned him this special tribute, which recognizes his long-standing commitment to keeping our region’s air quality in check.
Keith became the Board Chair in 2000 and served in that role for 11 years and later as Vice Chair for another 9. For him, the most rewarding part of this role was seeing how people contributed their time and expertise, working together to tackle challenges.
Read more about this story and how local leadership is shaping air quality monitoring in Alberta 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.
2024 Air Quality Trends Show Notable Decline in High Risk Ratings Despite Wildfire Smoke and Other Seasonal Factors
Heartland Air Monitoring Partnership (HAMP), the organization that monitors the air local residents breathe, has released its 2024 Annual Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) monitoring results, detailing air quality data collected at seven of HAMP’s continuous monitoring stations throughout the region. The 2024 report indicates that most of the year saw low to moderate AQHI levels, with occasional high or very high-risk periods primarily associated with wildfire smoke events and wintertime inversions.
2024 saw a notable decrease (996 total) in exceedances compared to 2023 (2,125 total), largely due to fewer wildfire smoke-related events. The most notable air quality events were related to wildfire smoke, particularly from May through September.
Read more about this report 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.