Heartland 101

Each year in Canada, the first Wednesday in June is celebrated as Clean Air Day. 

For us this means today June 4 is a wonderful opportunity for everyone to reflect on what we can do to preserve and improve the clean air that we benefit from – not just as Canadians, but as residents who live and work here in Alberta’s Industrial Heartland region.

What is our air quality like?

Overall, our air quality has remained stable or improved across the Heartland, with our long-term trending report confirming that the region’s poorest air quality days are typically linked to major natural events such as wildfires or wintertime temperature inversions. 

And even better for 2024, wildfire smoke had a less severe effect on our air quality than in 2023. In the spring, summer and fall of last year, our Airshed experienced 1,201 hours of high and very high Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) ratings – a 44% decrease compared to the year prior. 

For an average of 91.4% of the time across our monitoring stations, our regional air quality was low risk in 2024. 

How can we as individuals support clean air?

Since air quality can still be affected by both natural and human sources, our collective choices every day still matter. To prevent pollutants from these sources accumulating significantly, we can:

• Drive less and smarter.

• Reduce vehicle idling.

• Save energy by turning down thermostats and air conditioners.

• Shut off lights when not needed.

• Avoid generating excessive smoke or dust.

Our clean air is a credit to all of us – the public policies, industry practices and individual lifestyles we adopt all work to manage the impact of our activities on air quality.

How to stay informed about local air quality

There are many tools, reports and even a live data feed that you can access through heartlandairmonitoring.org to help you understand what the air quality is like here. 

But the easiest way for most people to assess local air quality is through the Air Quality Health Index.

If you live near Bruderheim, Elk Island, Fort Saskatchewan, Gibbons, Lamont or Redwater, you can check your hourly AQHI right on our homepage. Or follow Heartland Air Monitoring Partnership on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to stay on top of the latest air quality news and initiatives.