There’s smoke on the water and what looks like a pyre in the skies – and it may hang around for a few more days at least.
That’s the forecast from Environment Canada as the pall from forest fires through the Interior hovers over the North Shore.
“For the next couple of days through the long weekend, there won’t be much improvement,” said Environment Canada meteorologist Cindy Yu.
It’s unlikely major winds will budge the smoke until Tuesday, according to Yu.
At its murkiest, the air is 10 times worse than on a typical summer day, according to Ken Reid, Metro Vancouver superintendent of environmental sampling and monitoring.
Metro usually records between five and 15 micrograms of fine particulate matter per cubic metre during the summer. However, monitoring stations detected 123 micrograms per cubic metre in Horseshoe Bay Thursday morning.
Monitoring stations recorded similarly coarse air over North Vancouver, with 117 micrograms per cubic metre near the Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing and 118 closer to Mahon Park.
By early afternoon, particulate matter fell to 58 micrograms per cubic metre at both North Vancouver locations, but dropped only to 92 at Horseshoe Bay.
The air warning couldn’t have come at a worse time for Parkgate library patrons, as the branch was forced to close five hours early on Tuesday after their heating, ventilation and air conditioning system failed and sent indoor temperatures climbing to 30 C.
“We did not want to have someone fainting or having a medical issue caused by the heat,” said North Vancouver District Public Library communication co-ordinator Meghan Crowe, of the decision to close at 4 p.m.
The air conditioning system is now back up and running and the library is open.
While most seniors are coping admirably with the conditions, Silver Harbour Centre executive director Annwen Loverin is reminding residents to check in on seniors with health problems and cognitive challenges.
The smoke has brought higher nighttime temperatures, said Yu, adding the haze is causing slightly cooler temperatures in the afternoon but preventing heat loss after the sun goes down.
Without the smoke, temperatures would likely be in the mid- to high-30s C, according to Yu.
This article has been amended to correct the name of Environment Canada meteorologist Cindy Yu.
