West Coast wildfires making their presence further east

As wildfires rage in California and–to a lesser degree--in British Columbia–their repercussions are being felt far from the fires themselves.

Smoke from the fires is making it way east–into central Canada and beyond. 

On Monday, Calgary, Alberta got a taste when the World Air Quality Index, a non-profit that tracks air quality from monitoring stations around the world, rated the city’s air quality as 152, as of 7 p.m.

That’s officially in the “unhealthy” range and was comparable to China’s air quality rating, which was sitting at 155.

Clean air is in the 0 to 50 range, so Environment and Climate Change Canada issued a special air quality statement for the city and surrounding areas at 7:26 p.m.

A little less than two hours later, the statement was lifted–with the agency saying and skies would clear overnight, which they did.

Environment and Climate Change Canada said the conditions were the result of a warning that a cold front was moving through southern Alberta bringing in smoke from the West Coast fires.

“What it’s doing is actually mixing down some of the smoke that’s higher up in the atmosphere from wildfires in California,” said Ron Mark, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, said in a statement.

“There are fires in B.C. of course as well, and some of that smoke is contributing.”

“People with lung diseases, such as asthma and COPD, can be particularly sensitive to air pollution. They will generally experience more serious health effects at lower levels. Pollution can aggravate their diseases, leading to increased medication use, doctor and emergency room visits, and hospital visits,” the statement read.

Calgary’s air quality returned to a “good” rating, as of 9 p.m and the special air quality statement was lifted 19 minutes later.

Today’s forecast: a mix of sun and cloud with scattered showers.

Sunny skies are predicted through Friday.

With files from CBC News, Environment and Climate Change Canada,