Skies now smoky enough to take your breath away
Okanagan air quality rated as ‘very unhealthy’
Air quality has plummeted as the Okanagan Valley is blanketed in smoke.
The streets look almost otherworldly, and the other side of Okanagan Lake is completely obscured. The border between water and sky is a blurred, hazy greyscale.
The British Columbia Air Quality Index rates regions on a 10-point scale. On Monday, the North, Central and South Okanagan were all rated at a 10+ (very high — it is suggested that people reduce or reschedule strenuous outdoor activities).
The Worldwide Air Quality Index uses the concentration of fine particulate matter for a more specific reading of air quality. As of noon Monday, Kelowna was rated at 235, described as “very unhealthy.” Values over 300 are “hazardous.”
Comparatively, the air quality in Beijing on Monday was registered at 158, and the air quality in New Delhi was 117.
People, especially the elderly, children and those with pre-existing health conditions, are advised to reduce outdoor activity, stay hydrated and also to seek buildings with commercial air filters (malls, libraries, community centres, etc.) if they feel unwell.
The B.C. Air Quality Index’s 10+ rating is expected to drop to eight today, though smoke prediction is often unreliable.
The forecast for the rest of this week is fairly consistently hot and dry, with sunny skies, highs of 29 or 30 C and lows of 14 C.
“The best thing we can hope for is a change in weather — winds to blow smoke away, a good old-fashioned drenching of rain to extinguish fires and improve air quality,” said Mike Farnworth, minister of public safety and solicitor general.