Description
As of March 2020, the Alberta wildfire season is underway. Wildfires can cause poor air quality and reduce visibility across the province. One of the major components of smoke with a risk to human health is fine particulate matter (PM2.5). PM2.5 is made up of very small particles, with a size of 2.5 micrometers or smaller. PM2.5 can be inhaled into the lungs and may cause health concerns. In anticipation of, and in response to wildfire activity, AEP deploys portable air quality monitoring instrumentation in areas not covered by long term air monitoring stations. Beta-attenuation Particulate Monitors (EBAMs) are used to monitor and report one hour average concentrations of PM2.5 as a measure of the amount of smoke in air. As the wildfire season progresses, data collected may be provided from different localities around Alberta, depending on emergency response requirements. As of August 2020:
EBAMs have been deployed to Northern Alberta in anticipation of wildfire activity. As of September 2020:
One EBAM remains in Northern Alberta at Fort Vermilion.
EBAMs have been deployed to locations in Southern Alberta in response to smoke from wildfires in western United States and in British Columbia. EBAM data graphs and EBAM monitoring locations maps are provided below. Data are provided in Mountain Daylight Time (MDT).
Details
| Posted Date: |
Aug 19, 2020
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Source: |
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Alberta Environment and Parks |
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| Date Range: |
Jun 8, 2020 -
Present
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Location:
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Attachments
Usage Considerations
In an effort to have timely communication, data have only undergone preliminary quality control and assurance. Data integrity and validity may be affected by instrument malfunctions, connection problems and/or power failures. Data confirmed to be invalid for the above reasons are removed from the figures generated. The latest status and details on all alerts can be found here: http://www.weather.gc.ca/warnings/index_e.html For real time data from long term air monitoring stations please visit http://airquality.alberta.ca/map/ Additional information may also be obtained from
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