Kamloops and Cariboo regions are currently being affected by the movement of smoke caused by a wildfire.

While air quality has been on the rise in developed countries over the past few decades, recent data from Environment and Climate Change Canada reveals that numerous cities in Western Canada are experiencing the opposite trend.

The thick, dark grey smoke rivers produced by massive wildfires can extend to such an extent that they are visible up to 1.5 million kilometers away.

During the wildfire season in a previous year, around 880,000 hectares of land in Alberta were burned. This year, the wildfire season started off vigorously, with over a hundred fires breaking out in Alberta and British Columbia in early May. As per NASA, smoke from a wildfire situated to the west of Edmonton reached an altitude of roughly 12 kilometers, which is an astonishingly high level in the stratosphere.

While the most apparent impact of wildfires is the charred landscapes that remain after the smoke dissipates, an increasingly concerning consequence of these more severe wildfires is their reversal of a longstanding trend observed in developed nations towards better air quality.

Smoke caused by ongoing wildfires in northeastern British Columbia and northern Alberta is spreading into the Kamloops and Cariboo regions. The BC Wildfire Service reports eight wildfires burning out of control in northeastern BC, while the Alberta Wildfire Service reports 21 out-of-control wildfires stretching from west-central Alberta to the northern boundary.

However, the air quality in the Kamloops and Cariboo regions is currently at low risk, so residents need not worry about choking smoke conditions as in previous years.

In Prince George, the air quality is moderate, according to BC Air Quality. The BCWS advises residents who experience any impact from the smoke to seek shelter indoors, such as in shopping malls or libraries, and to stay hydrated to mitigate inflammation.