Wildfire smoke map handy for Albertans this summer, meteorologist says

An online map showing the intensity and direction of wildfire smoke will be handy for Albertans this summer, according a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.

The interactive website shows the concentration of forest fire smoke across North America and which direction it's expected to drift.

On Monday, it showed some smoke in southern British Columbia, where several fires are currently burning. But the map only predicted thatlow levels of smoke willwaft across theAlberta border at times over the next 48 hours.

With the right wind and other conditions, smoke can travel "almost around the globe," meteorologist John-Paul Craig told the Calgary Eyeopener Monday.

"Once it gets into the jet stream, it can travel quite a distance. There are stories of wildfire smoke in Alberta and B.C. affecting areas in Ontario reducing air quality," he said.

The fires burning in southern B.C. have prompted airquality warnings in East Kootenay and East Columbia. The Environment Canada map shows some smoke will drift into border communities in southern Alberta, but not necessarily enough to prompt similar warnings.

Help with health

If you're ever curious if a dash of smoke will turn into a thick plume locally, Craig recommends checking the map, called Canada's Wildfire Smoke Prediction System. It's online at weather.gc.ca/firework.

It predicts real-time expected smoke movement by hour for up to 48 hours ahead using a formula that includes wind patterns, weather, the jet stream and rain, which can dissipate smoke completely.

The map can help people, in particular seniors, children and people with heart or lung disease, decide if they need to stay indoors during high smoke periods.

"It's a complicated puzzle to figure out where smoke will go because it doesn't just travel horizontally," Craig said.

"It travels vertically, as well, and it isn't until the smoke gets to the ground that it affects people."

Calgaryand the surrounding area is uniquely placed to protect against smoke, as well. The mountains act as a smoke shade, he said, forcing the particles into the upper atmosphere.

"That smoke will fly above you and then descend in areas like Saskatchewan," Craig said.

"But sometimes the atmospheric conditions are just right where that smoke will get forced down [from] the B.C. forest fires into a place like Calgary and cause air quality issues."

The city saw some smoke on Friday, not enough to prompt air quality warnings but enough to be noticeably different from recently sunny, clear days.

The bit of B.C. smoke inching into neighbouring Alberta may bring up memoriesof last summer, when Calgary was blanketed in a haze for about a month.

According to Environment Canada, an average summer in Calgary typically seesone or two hazy, smokey days.

Listen to John-Paul Craig about how to use the map to plot your lung health:

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With files from Danielle Nermanand the Calgary Eyeopener.