Fort Air Partnership (FAP), the organization that monitors the air local residents breathe, released 2023 Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) results. The Government of Alberta calculates the AQHI using data collected at seven of FAP’s air monitoring stations.
Wildfire smoke was by far the most frequent contributor to high-risk and very high-risk Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) ratings measured at Fort Air Partnership’s monitoring stations in 2023. The wildfires caused the Fort Air Partnership Airshed to experience about 16 times more high and very-high AQHI hours than in 2022 and about 6 times more than in 2021.
Increase in high-risk and very high-risk AQHI ratings
The number of high-risk and very high-risk AQHI ratings in 2023 increased significantly compared to the last four years. The increased number of high and very high-risk AQHI ratings was almost entirely caused by wildfire smoke in the Province. The poor air quality prompted the release of Special Air Quality Statements for much of Alberta, including the FAP Airshed, on August 25 and September 18.
Low-risk AQHI ratings still prevalent through most of the year
The Airshed experienced low-risk AQHI ratings an average of 84% of the time in 2023, an 11% decrease when compared with 2022 and a 12% decrease when compared with 2021. Among FAP’s permanent stations, Thorhild County had the most low-risk AQHI ratings at 86% of the time, while Fort Saskatchewan had the least low-risk AQHI ratings at 76% of the time.
In 2023, there were 1517 hours of high-risk and 614 hours of very high-risk AQHI ratings. These hours were spread relatively evenly across FAP’s continuous monitoring stations, illustrating the regional effect of wildfire smoke across the Airshed from May to September. By comparison, in 2022, there were only 119 hours of high-risk and 14 hours of very high-risk AQHI ratings.
In 2023, there were 2125 occurrences across FAP’s ten monitoring stations where air quality measurements exceeded Alberta’s Ambient Air Quality Objectives. This is compared to 194 exceedances in 2022. 96% of the exceedances that occurred in 2023 were due to elevated levels of fine particulate matter from wildfire smoke.
Air quality monitoring statistics
Our 2023 air quality monitoring summary includes a five-year summary of exceedances.
2023 Fort Air Partnership Air Monitoring Results
|
FAP – 2023 |
Risk Level (% of time in each) |
||||
|
Station Name |
Hours Monitored |
Low |
Moderate |
High |
Very High |
|
Bruderheim |
8486 |
83.93% |
13.30% |
1.89% |
0.88% |
|
Elk Island |
8526 |
86.03% |
10.22% |
2.78% |
0.97% |
|
Fort Saskatchewan |
8406 |
76.21% |
19.47% |
3.06% |
1.26% |
|
Gibbons |
8361 |
81.90% |
14.40% |
3.03% |
0.67% |
|
Lamont |
8523 |
84.96% |
11.76% |
2.71% |
0.57% |
|
Redwater |
8315 |
85.35% |
10.73% |
2.65% |
1.27% |
|
Thorhild County |
6624 |
86.22% |
9.28% |
2.40% |
2.10% |
|
Total Hours |
57241 |
47760 |
7350 |
1517 |
614 |