{"id":824308,"date":"2026-07-25T01:51:25","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T01:51:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/824308\/"},"modified":"2026-07-25T01:51:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T01:51:25","slug":"calgary-air-quality-wildfire-smoke-blankets-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/824308\/","title":{"rendered":"Calgary air quality: Wildfire smoke blankets city"},"content":{"rendered":"

Residents are being urged to take precautions as Calgary deals with poor air quality as wildfires burn in B.C. Kathy Le has more on the possible health impacts. <\/p>\n

CALGARY – Calgary had the worst air quality in Canada Friday as wildfire smoke pushed the city\u2019s Air Quality Health Index into the highest-risk category, leaving residents like Anthony Chim struggling to breathe.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes me very dizzy,\u201d said Chim, who has asthma. \u201cI have nasal congestion. I\u2019m short of breath. I coughed so much last night that I couldn\u2019t even sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), Calgary\u2019s Air Quality Health Index climbed above 10 \u2014 the highest risk category \u2014 as smoke from wildfires burning in British Columbia and Washington state drifted into southern Alberta.<\/p>\n

Health officials warned the smoke isn\u2019t just affecting people with asthma or other underlying health conditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith this kind of air quality, anyone can be affected,\u201d said Shane Paton, acting public education officer with Calgary EMS. \u201cThere\u2019s definitely those that are at a higher risk, but everyone needs to take precautions, such as limiting your time outdoors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Orange warning \u2013 air quality: Calgary smoke hits dangerous levels Environment and Climate Change Canada\u2019s air quality health index for Calgary sat at a 10-plus — representing a very high health risk — on Friday, July 24, 2026. <\/p>\n

Paton urged people to watch themselves and others for symptoms, including shortness of breath, coughing, wheezing, chest pain, dizziness and worsening asthma.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf these symptoms become severe or persistent, then you would want to seek medical care,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For those who must spend extended periods outdoors, Paton said wearing a well-fitted N95 mask or equivalent respirator can reduce exposure to the fine particles found in wildfire smoke.<\/p>\n

ECCC meteorologist Geoff Coulson said the smoke is affecting communities far beyond the fires themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not only communities in B.C. and Washington being affected, but downstream in Alberta, Saskatchewan, even into parts of Manitoba,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The haze has settled over Calgary as the city\u2019s outdoor Folk Music Festival got underway.<\/p>\n

\"\"Orange warning \u2013 air quality: Calgary smoke hits dangerous levels A red-coloured sunrise on Friday marked the start of another smoky day in Calgary. <\/p>\n

Festival organizers are using real-time air monitors to track changing conditions throughout the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to make sure that the air quality is safe enough for not only the performers and staff but also the attendees,\u201d said Mandeep Dhaliwal with the Calgary Region Airshed Zone.<\/p>\n

Chim, who has committed to volunteering at the festival, said he will assess conditions before deciding how long he can stay.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would definitely try,\u201d he said. \u201cIf anything gets too serious, I have to leave the site immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n

Calgary is the latest major Canadian city to be shrouded in wildfire smoke this summer. Less than two weeks ago, smoke pushed Toronto\u2019s air quality among the worst in the world as wildfires burned across northern Ontario, prompting similar health warnings.<\/p>\n

ECCC said smoke conditions in Calgary are expected to fluctuate throughout the day but linger into the weekend.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Residents are being urged to take precautions as Calgary deals with poor air quality as wildfires burn in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":823336,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194293],"tags":[712,49,2798,48],"class_list":["post-824308","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-calgary","tag-apple-news","tag-ca","tag-calgary","tag-canada"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/824308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=824308"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/824308\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/823336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=824308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=824308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=824308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}