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August 15, 2024
The City of Edmonton has activated its extreme weather response for poor air quality. The response is effective immediately and is scheduled to remain in effect until Saturday, August 17, 2024 at 9 a.m. The response may be extended if poor air quality conditions persist.
The extreme weather response implements City Policy C620 to ensure the health and safety of all Edmontonians, particularly those who are vulnerable to extreme weather conditions.
For poor air quality activations, the threshold for activation typically includes the presence of an Environment Canada Special Air Quality Statement and a score of 7 or higher for two consecutive days on the Air Quality Index.
Poor Air Quality Supports:
- Open City facilities are available for anyone needing respite from the smoke, such as recreation centres, leisure centres and libraries. Transit centres and LRT stations are not appropriate for respite from smoke because most of these facilities are exposed to the outside air and do not have controlled indoor climates. For other City facilities, such as outdoor pools, visit Facility Notifications for the latest status.
- N95 masks are distributed to social agencies and are also available at City facilities, including Edmonton Public Libraries and recreation centres, to help reduce exposure to harmful airborne particles. Edmontonians can find N95 mask locations on the City website: Edmonton.ca/extremeweather.
What Edmontonians Can Do To Help
Edmontonians should ensure they are aware of steps they can take to reduce the health risks to themselves and others. For air quality, we encourage people to take any and all actions to reduce exposure to the smoke. Please keep all windows and doors of buildings and vehicles closed as much as possible during periods of poor air quality. Additional information on the hazards, symptoms, and health risks of smoke and poor air quality can be found on the Alberta Health Services website.
We encourage Edmontonians to check in on family, friends and neighbours. Edmontonians who are concerned about someone outside can help by calling:
- 211 and press 3 for the 24/7 Crisis Diversion team. They can assist with individuals who may be in distress and can provide transportation to social service agencies.
- 911 in cases of emergency.
Sector Emergency Response
The City’s extreme weather response supplements existing measures implemented by the Sector Emergency Response group, a collaboration of more than 25 agencies working together to ensure Edmonton’s most vulnerable people are safe during adverse weather conditions.
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