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From October through December 2024, Heartland Air Monitoring Partnership (HAMP) Airshed maintained predominantly low risk Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) hourly ratings, with only a few isolated high risk events mostly attributed to wintertime temperature inversions.

In winter, a temperature inversion occurs when cold air is trapped near the ground by a layer of warm air, which acts like a lid holding emissions down. This warm inversion layer temporarily elevated levels of fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) throughout the entire Edmonton Metropolitan Area, including the HAMP region.

HAMP recorded 15,015 hours of air monitoring data for calculating the AQHI:

14,736 (98.14%) of the hours were low risk AQHI
275 (1.83%) of the hours were moderate risk AQHI
4 (0.03%) of the hours were high risk AQHI
No hours were recorded at very high risk AQHI

There were two fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) exceedances of the 1-hr Alberta Ambient Air Quality Objectives (AAAQOs) and two exceedances of the 24-hour objectives, on December 16 and 22. These exceedances were directly related to wintertime inversion conditions, except for one exceedance caused by industry operations. Other than wildfire smoke, common sources of fine particulate matter include industrial emissions, home heating, fireplaces and barbecues.

One-Hour Exceedances Summary for the Four Quarters of 2024
Parameter	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4
PM_2.5	5	9	618	2

Three-Year AQHI Rating Comparison in Fourth Quarters:

	Low Risk	Moderate Risk	High Risk	Very High Risk
Q4 2022	11,387	1,179	20	11
Q4 2023	14,752	99	0	0
Q4 2024	14,736	275	4	0

Note: New in 2024, Alberta implemented a revised AQHI to provide earlier health risk warnings to Albertans during exceptional or rapidly changing wildfire events. Due to this change, an increased number of high and very high AQHI ratings is likely during air quality events compared to previous years, some of which the source may be undetermined.

For more details: October to December 2024 air monitoring report.

A new report by Heartland Air Monitoring Partnership (HAMP) shows how five key substances affect air quality in the Heartland Airshed over time and how those trends compare to other locations in Alberta, Canada and around the world.

The Air Quality Trending and Comparison Report focuses on five common air contaminants (parameters), as defined by the federal government: fine particulate matter, ozone, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide. Six of HAMP’s 10 monitoring stations were used in the comparison because they monitor for these parameters and have the longest data sets.

Key Findings:

The biggest changes in air quality typically happen because of major natural events like wildfires or winter temperature inversions, leading to the Heartland’s poorest air quality days overall.
South and south-west winds lead to slightly higher levels of fine particulate matter in the Heartland (commonly during temperature inversions). Fort Saskatchewan and Gibbons have higher levels in particular, because of their proximity to urban areas and their location downwind of the Edmonton Metropolitan Area.
Ozone levels in Alberta are higher in rural areas – in the Airshed this also means rural monitoring stations (Lamont County and Elk Island) record higher levels of ozone.
Sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide all continue to trend downwards across the province because of improved emissions technologies.
- Lower sulphur levels in both diesel and gasoline, less flaring from oil and gas wells province-wide and improved industrial technology have all contributed to a decrease in SO₂.
- Nitrogen dioxide levels are going down, likely due to efficiencies in home heating and vehicle energy use. Compared to the rest of the Airshed, Fort Saskatchewan experiences higher levels as an urban area with more home heating, vehicles and commercial activity.
- Carbon monoxide has continued to trend downward since 1991 because of improvements in vehicle efficiency and emissions reduction technology.
To compare local air quality with locations across Canada and around the world, Fort Saskatchewan was selected as representative of the Airshed. The data shows Fort Saskatchewan’s ozone, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide levels are comparable to other cities – in most cases with middle range concentrations. Fort Saskatchewan’s fine particulate matter levels, however, are among the lowest in the world, reflecting its size as a smaller urban centre than most of the other cities evaluated.

In Summary:

Even though the Heartland has had some very poor air quality days due to wildfire smoke, overall, the Airshed continues to experience clean air. When a big change in air quality happens, it can almost always be linked to an event occurring over a much larger region. For example, typically when the Heartland experiences elevated fine particulate matter or ozone, other monitoring stations in the Edmonton Metropolitan Area region are recording the same phenomenon.

Learn all of the data findings in the full report. This report updates findings in the first trending and comparison report produced by HAMP in 2019.

The Five Common Air Contaminants and Their Sources

PM _2.5 Fine Particulate Matter	Key source: Wildfire smoke. Also emitted from soil, roads, agricultural dust, vehicles, industrial emissions, cigarettes, home heating, fireplaces and barbecues.
O₃ Ozone	Not caused directly by human activity. Key source:* Chemical reactions between oxides of nitrogen and volatile organic compounds (commonly emitted by trees and vegetation), combined with sunlight. Generally lower in urban areas because the nitric oxide found in vehicle emissions destroys ozone (known as ozone scavenging).
SO₂ Sulphur Dioxide	Key source: In Alberta: natural gas processing plants. In the Heartland: most commonly emitted by industrial sources, both inside and outside Airshed boundaries.
NO₂ Nitrogen Dioxide	Key sources: Transportation, oil and gas industry, natural gas combustion, heating fuel combustion (including home heating) and wildfires. Appears as a reddish-brown gas and partially responsible for the “brown haze” often observed over large cities.
CO Carbon Monoxide	Key source: Primarily generated by the incomplete combustion of carbon-based fuels such as gasoline, oil and wood (including forest fires). In urban areas, the major source is vehicle exhaust.

We Monitor the Air You Breathe

We Monitor the Air You Breathe

Air Quality Remains Low Risk in Fourth Quarter of 2024 Despite Isolated High Risk Air Quality Events

Report Assesses Longer-Term Air Quality Trends in the Heartland