Metro Vancouver air quality worsens due to smoke: meteorologist

Metro Vancouver is facing some of the summer’s worst air conditions on Saturday, with smoke settling across much of the region, according to 1130 NewsRadio meteorologist Michael Kuss.

The Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD) issued an Air Quality Warning beginning Wednesday due to elevated fine particulate matter related to smoke from wildfires north of Whistler, east of Hope, and in the Cariboo region, as well as fires from the U.S.

“[Saturday] has the potential to be the worst air quality day of the week,” Kuss said.

“We’ve seen things deteriorating over the last few days. [On Saturday], a lot of that smoke is filtering down to the surface. We’ve already had poor air quality across much of Metro Vancouver, but especially the northwestern quadrant and out in the valley too.”

Higher elevations are seeing the worst of it, he says.

“Avoid some of those higher elevation locations where the smoke levels are incredibly elevated on the North Shore, Tri-Cities, higher elevations — Burnaby Mountain, for example, and then Chilliwack to the east.”

Conditions are expected to slowly improve over the coming days.

“Into the afternoon, we will see gradual improvement heading into Sunday and Monday with precipitation on the way, especially for Monday,” he said.

“That is going to be a big help, but lots of smoke is still lingering between now and then.”

Kuss says relief remains several days away, however.

“Air quality is moderate to poor and will remain no better than that,” he said.

“There’s just so much smoke locked in at the low and mid levels of the atmosphere now that it’s going to take a bit to flush it out. Things will change starting on Sunday as we get a bigger push of air and some cloud cover and precipitation to start cleaning out the atmosphere.”

The MVRD says residents should consider postponing or limiting outdoor activities, keeping windows and doors closed, and using a portable HEPA air cleaner inside.