The humid and smokey week continues in Southern Manitoba.
According to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) meteorologist, Brian Proctor, the smoke we see has drifted down from northern Saskatchewan and northern Alberta, pushing through over the top of us.
Proctor notes that the smokey air quality at the moment is from the haze previously in the area being pushed back across the region.
"The real responsible feature for much of the smoke has been a significant upper ridge of high pressure prevalent across western Canada: B.C., Alberta, and western Saskatchewan will be the main influencers of smoke throughout the period. And really, it has to shift eastward before we see a change in the pattern. We will be getting a lot of this local smoke drifting back and forth over the next few days," he continues. "Then, we'll see a shift in the pattern as the upper ridge comes across us. We can probably expect more pronounced smoke as the upper ridge becomes more established over top the southern Manitoba area on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. It will probably become a little bit less pronounced as we move towards the end of the weekend into the start of the next work week. But in general, expect the smoke to get worse before it gets better."
He says that it's key to listen for air quality advisories and what the air quality index is forecasting.
"One of the problems with these kinds of things is we start getting these extended periods of really difficult conditions. We start seeing more prevalent respiratory problems for people who have compromised respiratory systems, or they're very young, or they're very old. So, watch that smoke, and if it becomes a bit problematic for you, don't go outside. Stay inside if you can, with the air conditioning on, if you have it. Try to stay out of those peak concentration periods as much as you can."
As long as there is an upper ridge to the west of us, Proctor explains that the humidity will hold on.
"Watch for the upper ridge pattern. We'll probably start to see things shift as that starts to collapse and moves across us toward the end of the work week and into the weekend. But in general terms, it will be humid and somewhat uncomfortable right through the work week."