Is there an air quality advisory for Metro Vancouver?

Smoke from B.C. wildfires is staying aloft, for now.

Metro Vancouverites woke up to hazy skies Thursday morning, but the air quality is still within a safe range. 

A “high health risk” advisory remains in place for the Eastern Fraser Valley, as smoke from wildfires burning in the South Cariboo and near Boston Bar has increased concentrations of fine particulate matter in the air, according to Metro Vancouver. 

For now, the Metro and Central Fraser Valley regions have good ground-level air quality, as the smoke remains aloft, says Environment Canada meteorologist Brian Proctor. 

“You would see it, and you may be able to smell it, but the concentrations of that very-high particulate matter are such that they’re not approaching the very high impact value,” he explains. 

Smoky skies should continue through Friday (Aug. 14) in Metro Vancouver, with Saturday shaping up to be the clearest day of the week.

“We should see that pattern through Friday at this point, and then we’ll begin to see some subtle changes on Saturday,” Proctor says. 

For the Eastern Fraser Valley, an air quality advisory, or at least hazy skies, may persist into Tuesday next week. 

Metro Vancouver weather: Will the air quality get worse?

Air quality often improves during the day and worsens overnight, as onshore flow off the Pacific clears coastal areas of the ground-level pollution. But conditions aren’t expected to cause another air quality advisory in Metro Vancouver. 

“I think we’ll probably see an increase in some of that concentration due to the overnight hours, but not likely high enough to get us under the very high risk category. So it’s possible, [but] I wouldn’t expect it to happen. If it does happen, it probably won’t be much more than a yellow alert,” he says. 

On Saturday, a strong northwest flow down the Georgia Strait and a westerly flow across Metro Vancouver should push most of the smoke out of the area and “back into the Interior as well,” Proctor adds. 

Beyond the weekend, Tuesday onwards looks “a little bit cooler” with an increasing chance of showers.