Fort Air Partnership 2023 Annual Report to the Community Released

Posted on May 9, 2024

Fort Air Partnership (FAP), the organization that monitors the air local residents breathe, released its 2023 Annual Report to the Community today.  

Highlights 

  • In 2023, 57,241 hours of air monitoring were conducted. Of these hours, our Airshed experienced a record 2,131 hours of high and very high Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) ratings during spring, summer and fall of 2023 – a 95% increase from the same period in 2022. These ratings were almost entirely due to unprecedented levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from wildfire smoke. 
  • Our Keith Purves Portable continuous air monitoring station moved to a site six kilometres south of the Hamlet of Newbrook, in Thorhild County, where it operated for much of 2023. The site was chosen to fill a gap in continuous monitoring in the northern region of the Airshed. A summary report of the results is being prepared.
  • Throughout 2023, FAP worked with Alberta Environment and Protected Areas (AEPA) and the City of Fort Saskatchewan to identify a new location for the Fort Saskatchewan monitoring station. The current location presented difficulties with safety and access because the community has grown around it. Data sampling between the old and new sites wrapped up in April 2024 and analysis continues.
  • FAP’s continuous air monitoring equipment was operational an average of 99.38% of the time each month, which not only exceeds the Alberta Government’s required operational minimum of 90% but our own internal uptime target of 98.5%.
  • The Fresh Air Experience photo contest continues to be an important part of FAP’s social media presence. However, the campaign was put on hold in 2023 due to excessive wildfire smoke. A Holiday Clean Air contest was run instead to capture photos of clear skies and showcase the beauty of winter over the holiday season. 

Refer to all of our news and reports in the Library section of www.heartlandairmonitoring.org

 

Low risk AQHI relatively static over the past three years

As illustrated in the chart below, low risk AQHI ratings in the FAP Airshed have remained relatively static since 2021. The uptick in high and very high risk AQHI in 2023 was mainly due to wildfire smoke.

 

Air Quality Health Index – 2021-2023

 

 

 


Click here to view the 2023 Fort Air Partnership Annual Report to the Community.