The Metro Vancouver Regional District is responsible for air quality in our region. As part of this responsibility, the Regional District monitors air quality and issues alerts and warnings when conditions are compromised.
The summer is typically when we have air quality warnings, either due to wildfire smoke or local air pollution. This summer, the Regional District issued seven warnings, including one on August 24th due to local pollution and wildfire smoke, and on August 26th due to local pollution. Between September 3rd and 7th, the Regional District issued warnings due to wildfire smoke.
The following chart shows trends in air emissions warnings over the last two decades.
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| Number of air quality warning days in the Lower Fraser Valley airshed. Select the chart to enlarge. |
Of note, this year saw the second-highest forested area burned on record in Canada due to wildfires, with 8.9 million hectares burned as of the end of September. The Regional District's goal is to issue zero local emissions warnings, though there hasn’t been a year without one since 2019. Ground-level ozone is harmful to human health and is what triggers these local emissions warnings. Ground-level ozone is created when emissions, primarily from internal combustion vehicles (marine and ground), interact with sunlight.
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