VANCOUVER -- An air quality advisory issued as wildfire smoke wafted north from Washington and Oregon was renewed Wednesday morning for parts of B.C.
Officials in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley Regional District said there remains a high concentration of fine particulate matter in the air.
Additionally, an advisory was issued Wednesday for ground-level ozone.
The warmer-than-usual temperatures combined with the wildfire smoke was expected to cause elevated ozone concentrations, they said.
Ground-level ozone is formed when pollutants emitted when fuel is burning and compounds from solvents react to the presence of sunlight, the advisory said.
Exactly how bad it is will vary across the region as the wind and temperature changes, officials said.
The air quality is expected to be an issue at least until Thursday, according to the advisory.
Anyone with underlying medical conditions or infections including COVID-19 is advised to reduce any physical activity outside for now.
Among those most affected by poor air quality are those with conditions including lung disease, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma and diabetes.
Also renewed Wednesday were several air quality advisories from Environment Canada.
Those weather statements apply to the following parts of B.C.:
- Arrow Lakes-Slocan Lake
- Boundary
- East and West Kootenay
- East, West and Inland Vancouver Island
- Fraser Valley
- Greater Victoria
- Howe Sound
- Kootenay Lake
- Metro Vancouver
- Okanagan Valley
- Similkameen
- Southern Gulf Islands
- Sunshine Coast
- Whistler
Many of those areas are also under special weather statements due to forecast temperatures between five and 10 degrees higher than the seasonal norm.
