News and Articles

Nadine Blaney, Executive Director

 

This year marks our 25^th anniversary and I am looking forward to celebrating with all of the dedicated individuals, partner organizations, and supporters who continue to share our vision – for everyone living and working in the Heartland to understand what the air quality is like here.

Being in operation for 25 years is a call to reflect on where we started and how far we’ve come.

HAMP was formed as an Airshed 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.  At the time, several Airsheds were starting up across Alberta, many of them grass roots initiatives led by community members in collaboration with industry and government, to bring a higher level of credibility and transparency to air quality monitoring across the province.

This made-in-Alberta approach holds the most value in the fact that we are multi-stakeholder, with representation from industry, all levels of government and the public. This collaboration between all sectors enables Airsheds to accomplish goals that any one sector alone would have great difficulty doing. Since we operate using consensus, there is a less adversarial dynamic and an openness and transparency that has over time built up a high level of public credibility and trust.

Today, we stand proud of our progress.

What started with us taking over a collection of fence-line stations previously operated by individual industries has grown into a regional monitoring network that helps us understand the cumulative impact of all emission sources on air quality.

Since 2000 four new community stations, monitoring 24/7, have been added in Bruderheim, Gibbons, Redwater and Lamont, as well as a portable station that travels throughout the many smaller communities and other areas in our region where there is a need for air quality data.

“Our approach is academic and science-based, and we are serious about ensuring the data we collect is credible and trustworthy for government and industry to make informed decisions.”

But we are passionate about providing air quality data and information to anyone who wants access to it. And so, HAMP has built up its role in education and outreach over the past 25 years, through workshops, community events, a school program, special projects, and an increased social media presence.

PurpleAir micro-sensors are even available to any community centre or school that is interested in accessing data for fine particulate matter levels in their area, especially during wildfire season.

“It is our hope that residents in the HAMP region can know what we’re up to and increase their own understanding of air quality.” 

This is also the thinking that led us to rebrand from Fort Air Partnership to our new name Heartland Air Monitoring Partnership. It better represents the geographic area and communities we serve and makes our monitoring role so much clearer at a glance. In all of our work, we hope to share clearly the air quality data from our region with anyone who wishes to have an understanding of the air quality here.

Looking to the future, it is essential that all of our members and partners continue to be engaged and involved in air quality monitoring decisions.

I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has supported HAMP on this journey so far. Your dedication, passion and commitment are the driving forces behind our successes. Let’s continue to work collaboratively to ensure our air is clean for generations to come.

A temperature inversion can often be seen as a low-hanging fog or mist during very cold weather. STOCK PHOTO/Alberta Airsheds Council

With the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) tool readily available on smartphone apps and websites (including here at heartlandairmonitoring.org), it’s now possible to see an instant rating on what the air quality outside means to your health.

Fortunately, air quality health ratings in the Heartland are low risk most of the time.

But there are two conditions that typically lead to the poorest air quality days in our region (and much of the prairies). One is wildfire smoke. And the other is a natural phenomenon called a temperature inversion – which tends to materialize when the Polar Vortex expands and sends a gush of cold air southward.

The temperature inversion occurs when the air on the ground cools faster than the air above it. This colder air then gets trapped underneath the layer of warmer air, forming a sort of lid. The result? Our typical emissions cannot rise and disperse as quickly as they normally would.

Additionally, in winter, the need to heat our homes and warm up our vehicles all contribute to higher levels of emissions, especially fine particulate matter (PM_2.5). At times this increase in emissions, coupled with a temperature inversion, then leads to higher AQHI ratings.

Temperature inversions in the Heartland

Even so, temperature inversions that cause high or very high risk AQHI ratings are rare. Once Heartland Air Monitoring Partnership’s 2025 first quarter data is compiled, the cold snap of early February will likely show some hours of higher risk air quality.

When looking at all of 2024, Heartland Air Monitoring Partnership (HAMP) monitoring stations in the Airshed region reported 655 hours of high or very high risk AQHI ratings. The precise number of hours caused by winter temperature inversions can be challenging to determine. However, HAMP estimates it is about 5% (while the majority of higher risk hours are due to wildfire smoke).

Can poor winter air quality be prevented?

Most of our emissions stay fairly constant throughout the year and easily disperse under normal weather conditions. But in winter when there is more vehicle idling, home heating and fireplace use adding to pollutant levels, we can all strive to reduce the impact by being conscious of our usage and choosing energy-efficient products.

Access your local AQHI

If you are concerned about your health, do keep track of the current and forecast AQHI for your local area. If you live in the Heartland Air Monitoring Partnership Airshed you can:

1. Check the AQHI ratings for Bruderheim, Elk Island, Fort Saskatchewan, Gibbons, Lamont and Redwater which are posted hourly right on our homepage.
2. Download the WeatherCAN app or another weather reporting app, such as the Weather Network, to check the current AQHI for your community.
3. Tune in to Alberta Health Services air quality advisories or your local media for updates. Most news outlets share special air quality statements or advisories when they are issued.