Unless you've been living under a rock in Calgary, you, like all other Calgarians would know the smoke in the city is very much in the air.In fact, Environment Canada has reported Calgary's air quality health index (AQHI) is currently, as of Friday, at a 10 — the highest score, deemed "very high risk."What this means in practical terms, Geoff Coulson, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada, told the Western Standard, is that the impacts of the smoke are felt by "pretty much everyone.""When the readings are somewhat lower on the scale, it's more those that are very young, the elderly, those that may have underlying health conditions that make them predisposed to impacts from poorer air quality."."But once we get to 10 plus on the scale, pretty much anyone would have some impacts from it, especially doing anything kind of strenuous outdoors on conditions like today."The smoke is coming from multiple sources, including the wildfires in Southern Alberta and fires also burning in Washington state, which is right below BC."Calgary area is experiencing some of the poorest air quality in Canada right now," stated Coulson.As for how long the severity of the smoke will last, Coulson says it may stay the weekend.."There's a potential for it to linger into Saturday, and then we may start to see some improvement on Sunday.""Whether it's going to remain at 10 plus through Saturday is still a bit uncertain.""We may go a little further down the scale into the 7-9, range, the high risk range, which is still problematic for many people."While the AQHI will remain high throughout Friday and Saturday, people are advised not to participate in any strenuous outdoor activities.Symptoms caused by wildfire smoke include coughing, throat irritation, headaches, and shortness of breath.
