The smoked conditions had some people in the southeast of New Brunswick and the area of Saint John thinking that a forest fire was at his door.
But CBC’s meteorologist, Tina Simpkin, says that the smoke source on Monday was actually a distance in Nueva Scotia.
“A very unique weather configuration” allowed to happen, Simpkin said.
“This summer has been unusual. We have had high pressure ridges that feel above.”
Normally, hot and smoky air rises to a colder and higher atmosphere, he said.
But in recent days, a high pressure crest caused relatively warm conditions in the upper atmosphere, which kept the smoke low to the ground.
“Once the smoke hits that kind of cap, it groups there,” said Simpkin.
Meanwhile, the West-Southwest wind pushed the smoke to parts of New Brunswick and Pei
These conditions occur from time to time, Simpkin said, and when combined with a forest fire, the effects are pronounced.
“This is becoming our new normality,” he said.
“This is part of global warming. We will have to start preparing and analyzing these types of problems in the coming years.”
New Brunswick’s Health medical director says that the smoke of forest fires can be harmful to very young women, very old and pregnant and those with underlying heart or lung conditions.
The smoke of the forest fire represents a higher health risk for many people, said Melanie Langille de NB Lung.
It may be sufficient to trigger lack of breathing or difficulty breathing, a potentially deadly situation, Langille said.
The most at risk of smoke pollution include older adults, children, people who are pregnant or who have heart or pulmonary conditions, diabetes, cancer or mental health conditions, and those who work outdoors, he said.
NB Lung has a network of approximately two dozen air quality sensors located in homes and businesses in the province, Langille said, and air quality can change daily.
In general, the New Brunswick air quality health index obtains one to three on a scale of one to 10, Langille said.
“The areas that were affected by smoke yesterday were recorded in seven,” he said.
The application can help
Langille advises anyone interested in the risks to the health of air quality to download the Weathecan application and establish alerts at the level of air quality health index of their choice.
“I have really mild asthma. I notice a difference: an increase in my symptoms when the Aqhi is at three. Therefore, my alerts are configured for when the prognosis will be three.”
The index is really useful, Langille said.
In the days when air quality is poor, it is a good idea to reduce the intensity of anything that does outdoors, he said.
The air quality health index analyzes things such as ozone, nitrogen dioxide and fine particles, Simpkin said.
These are smaller particles than the width of a human hair. They can reduce visibility and cause health effects.
Fine particles is what mainly irritates the lungs, Langille said. It can penetrate the blood and also irritate other internal systems.
Drinking a lot of water can help the body eliminated, he said.
Consider a mask
Another measure to mitigate smoke health risks is to use a mask, he said.
The masks can be useful during the episodes of poor air quality, agreed Dr. Yves Léger, medical director of Health of New Brunswick.
He stipulated that N95 or equivalent should be certified, to filter very fine particles. The masks of the hardware stores are insufficient, he said.
The adjustment is also important. The mask has to fit comfortably against his skin to create a stamp, Léger said.
The public health doctor also pointed out that masks cannot reduce exposure to other pollutants in the smoke of forest fires.
“You still have to take precautions,” he said.
If the air quality even inside his home is bad, Léger recommended not staying there and suggested to go to a neighbor, a shopping center or a library.
On Tuesday, Simpkin predicted that a more western wind would keep smoke away from the new Brunswick.
There could still be “some pockets of plenty of smoke,” however, in low areas, he said.
“It’s going to take time to really clean it,” he said.
Simpkin noticed that a couple of other good resources to track smoke and air quality are Firesmoke.ca and the Canadian forest fire information system.
