As smoke from wildfires continues to fill the air in Manitoba, a local health expert says the air quality on Friday was about as bad as it can get, and he’s warning people to avoid going outside if possible until things clear up.
“We’re at the upper end of the scale, where the scale kind of loses meaning because it can’t go any higher, but it seems to continually get worse,” said Christopher Pascoe, a University of Manitoba professor whose research focuses on chronic respiratory diseases.
“On a day like today, it’s about as bad as it’s going to get,” he said Friday.
Environment and Climate Change Canada issued warnings Friday for people in much of the province to limit time outside and to reschedule or cancel outdoor activities and events, after the air quality health index soared from a Level 3 (low risk) to a “very high risk” 10+ level overnight in Winnipeg.
The smoke coming from the mass of northern fires in the province has been driven south by a shift in winds, and left most of the province under air quality warnings or special air quality statements.
Pascoe said the air quality in Winnipeg early Friday morning was about seven to eight times worse than what the federal government deems acceptable.
“With how it was this morning at about 5 a.m. at its peak, being outside for an hour was the equivalent of smoking a cigarette,” he said.
Pascoe said it’s not just people with existing health conditions who need to be worried about breathing in the air in Manitoba.
“On days like today, it doesn’t really matter if you’re somebody with lung disease or an underlying condition or part of a vulnerable population,” he said. “You’re going to be at risk for experiencing respiratory or lung symptoms, shortness of breath, coughing, wheezing.”
Although it’s a busy time of year in Manitoba for outdoor events, including the Winnipeg Folk Festival, running this weekend at Birds Hill Provincial Park, people should seriously consider how much time they’re spending outdoors, no matter what they had planned, said Pascoe.
“It’s hard — you’ve spent the money, you’ve looked forward to it for a while, you really don’t want to not go — but you also have to be mindful of how this will affect you, both in the short term and in the long term.”
People with certain existing health conditions in particular should seriously consider staying indoors, he said.
“There’s a fair amount of evidence that when we have events like this, anytime from a day to a week after, hospitalizations for heart attacks and strokes worsen. There is certainly risk of mortalities or sudden death with air pollution like this, so it’s not something to be taken lightly.”
Pascoe expects the poor air quality to continue until at least Saturday evening.
Smoke forces cancellations
Last month, similar smoky conditions forced the cancellation of numerous activities and performances, including school field trips, powwows and some outdoor performances by Shakespeare in the Ruins, including the opening night of Macbeth.
The Manitoba High School Athletic Association also cancelled the provincial track and field provincial championships early last month due to air quality issues.
The Assiniboine Park Conservancy said Friday that due to the air quality warnings, it was cancelling its Zoo Nights event for Friday. It said ticketholders for the adults-only event will be contacted about refunds or exchanges for a future event.
The Winnipeg Folk Festival, whose 50th annual event started Thursday and runs until Sunday, has no intentions yet to pause anything.
“We are aware of the high index on air quality this morning … [but] we are proceeding as planned,” the festival said in an email to CBC Friday.
Attendees will be updated regularly through social media, the festival’s app and at the Birds Hill site of any changes to the air quality or programming, the statement said.
Heavy wildfire smoke filled the skies over the Winnipeg Folk Festival site at Birds Hill Provincial Park on Friday. While the hazy conditions and air quality warnings didn’t stop people from attending, festivalgoers were taking precautions.
Winnipeg Folk Festival executive director Valerie Shantz told CBC on Friday that although the air quality is far less than ideal, organizers are still hoping for a successful and well-attended festival.
“It isn’t what we would ask for, but the Folk Festival has a really long reputation of people kind of deciding what they want to do,” she said.
She added there are medical facilities on site, including a first aid tent, as well as volunteers who she said are watching for people who might be in distress.
As of Friday, Shantz said none of the scheduled acts at this year’s festival had cancelled due to the air quality.
Find the latest wildfire information at these sources:
Are you an evacuee who needs assistance? Contact Manitoba 211 by calling 211 from anywhere in Manitoba or email [email protected].
