Preparing for smoky skies
You can prepare yourself, your family, and your home for wildfire smoke events before they happen. The BC Centre for Disease Control has a fact sheet that provides the information you need to:
- Have a plan in place for your health when air quality deteriorates.
- Reduce your exposure to wildfire smoke in your home (for example, by using a portable air cleaner).
- Reduce your smoke exposure if you are outside.
Wildfire smoke health impacts
Everyone can be affected by wildfire smoke, but some people are at higher risk, including people with lung, heart or other chronic conditions, pregnant people, infants, children, older adults, and outdoor workers.
Check out the BC Centre for Disease Control’s Health Effects fact sheet to learn more.
Common air pollutants in our region
The main air contaminants (often referred to as air pollutants) that could reach unhealthy levels in the region are:
- ground-level ozone, or smog, produced by a chemical reaction between nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds on hot and sunny days, and
- fine particulate matter, from sources including wildfire smoke, residential wood smoke, vehicle exhaust, industrial processes, and chemical reactions.
Find out about air quality conditions
Stay up to date on current conditions:
Online information can help you get a clearer picture about conditions:
Information provided during poor air quality conditions
Metro Vancouver and their partners work together to notify the public of unhealthy air quality. Find out who posts information about air quality and where you can find it.