News and Articles

2023 Annual Air Quality Monitoring Results Affected by Wildfire Smoke 

Posted on March 4, 2024

Fort Air Partnership (FAP), the organization that monitors the air local residents breathe, released 2023 Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) results. The Government of Alberta calculates the AQHI using data collected at seven of FAP’s air monitoring stations.

Wildfire smoke was by far the most frequent contributor to high-risk and very high-risk Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) ratings measured at Fort Air Partnership’s monitoring stations in 2023. The wildfires caused the Fort Air Partnership Airshed to experience about 16 times more high and very-high AQHI hours than in 2022 and about 6  times more than in 2021.

Increase in high-risk and very high-risk AQHI ratings

The number of high-risk and very high-risk AQHI ratings in 2023 increased significantly compared to the last four years. The increased number of high and very high-risk AQHI ratings was almost entirely caused by wildfire smoke in the Province. The poor air quality prompted the release of Special Air Quality Statements for much of Alberta, including the FAP Airshed, on August 25 and September 18. 

Low-risk AQHI ratings still prevalent through most of the year

The Airshed experienced low-risk AQHI ratings an average of 84% of the time in 2023, an 11% decrease when compared with 2022 and a 12% decrease when compared with 2021. Among FAP’s permanent stations, Thorhild County had the most low-risk AQHI ratings at 86% of the time, while Fort Saskatchewan had the least low-risk AQHI ratings at 76% of the time.

In 2023, there were 1517 hours of high-risk and 614 hours of very high-risk AQHI ratings. These hours were spread relatively evenly across FAP’s continuous monitoring stations, illustrating the regional effect of wildfire smoke across the Airshed from May to September. By comparison, in 2022, there were only 119 hours of high-risk and 14 hours of very high-risk AQHI ratings. 

In 2023, there were 2125 occurrences across FAP’s ten monitoring stations where air quality measurements exceeded Alberta’s Ambient Air Quality Objectives. This is compared to 194 exceedances in 2022. 96% of the exceedances that occurred in 2023 were due to elevated levels of fine particulate matter from wildfire smoke. 

Air quality monitoring statistics

Our 2023 air quality monitoring summary includes a five-year summary of exceedances.

 

2023 Fort Air Partnership Air Monitoring Results

           FAP – 2023

     Risk Level (% of time in each)

Station Name

Hours Monitored

Low

Moderate

High

Very High

Bruderheim

8486

83.93%

13.30%

1.89%

0.88%

Elk Island

8526

86.03%

10.22%

2.78%

0.97%

Fort Saskatchewan

8406

76.21%

19.47%

3.06%

1.26%

Gibbons

8361

81.90%

14.40%

3.03%

0.67%

Lamont

8523

84.96%

11.76%

2.71%

0.57%

Redwater

8315

85.35%

10.73%

2.65%

1.27%

Thorhild County

6624

86.22%

9.28%

2.40%

2.10%

Total Hours

57241

47760

7350

1517

614

Fort Air Partnership Records Zero High or Very-High Risk AQHI Hours in the Fourth Quarter of 2023

Posted on January 16, 2024

From October through December 2023, Fort Air Partnership (FAP) recorded zero hours of high or very-high-risk Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) hours at our seven continuous air monitoring stations that provide the data used for calculating the AQHI.

For the fourth quarter, FAP reported a total of 14,752 hours (99.3%) of low-risk AQHI and 99 hours (0.67%) of moderate-risk AQHI.

There were also no exceedances of the Alberta Ambient Air Quality Objectives (AAAQO) in the fourth quarter of 2023.

       One-Hour Exceedances Summary for the Four Quarters of 2023

           Q1

             Q2

            Q3

             Q4

           59

            544

          1283

              0

 

      24-Hour Exceedances Summary for the Four Quarters of 2023

             Q1

          Q2

            Q3

             Q4

             30

          88

           167

              0

 

All exceedances of AAAQOs are reported to the Alberta Government, and the likely cause of the exceedance is investigated.

For more details: October to December 2023 FAP air monitoring report