June 5 is Clean Air Day in Canada. Heartland Air Monitoring Partnership (HAMP), the organization that monitors the air local residents breathe, encourages everyone to celebrate this day by taking at least one action to support clean air: walking, riding a bicycle, driving less and driving smart, or even simply shutting off lights when they are not needed. 
“Clean Air Day is a great reminder for us all to reflect on what we can do to preserve and improve the clean air we benefit from in Canada,” noted Nadine Blaney, HAMP’s Executive Director. “Our clean air is a credit to us all – the public policies, industry practices and the individual lifestyles we adopt to help manage the impact of our activities on air quality.”
In 2023, air quality ratings in the Airshed showed that air quality was a low risk to health more than 83% of the time. Even though the Heartland region had some exceptionally poor air quality days in 2023 due to wildfire smoke, overall, the Airshed continues to experience clean air.
When substances from natural and/or human sources accumulate in the atmosphere, air quality can degrade and affect human and ecosystem health. HAMP’s ten continuous air monitoring stations measure airborne substances minute by minute, 24 hours a day, all year long. The provincial government uses data from seven of these stations to calculate a daily and forecast Air Quality Health Index (AQHI), providing people with a way to gauge the quality of outdoor air and adjust their level of outdoor activity accordingly.
Everyone can support Clean Air Day by making clean choices a habit throughout the year. HAMP also encourages everyone to start with taking ten minutes to be as informed as possible on local air quality. Follow HAMP on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and bookmark our website for regular access to AQHI ratings for the Airshed.
About Heartland Air Monitoring Partnership:
Heartland Air Monitoring Partnership monitors the air quality in a 4,500 square kilometre region northeast of Edmonton that includes Alberta’s Industrial Heartland. Continuous data is collected 24 hours a day, seven days a week and generated through a live data feed accessible to anyone who visits www.heartlandairmonitoring.org. HAMP air quality monitoring and reporting is guided by a scientific advisory group and driven by national and provincial standards.