Summer has finally arrived in the territory, alongside smoke from British Columbia wildfires.
As of June 13, Environment Canada has put out a special air quality statement for Whitehorse, Faro, Ross River, Watson Lake, the Cassiar Mountains and Teslin. Wildfire smoke is expected to create low visibility conditions and poor air quality, per the statement.
In an interview with the News on June 13, the Yukon’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Sudit Ranade said the air quality index is an informative measure to pay attention to. The index usually comes with health recommendation related to what you should do based on current health status and health concerns, he said.
“Having said that, it’s always based on symptoms,” Ranade said. “You could be a person who ends up having strong reactions to this kind of haze or particulate matter in the air. And if you are, then the advice is that you should seek indoor places, seek cleaner air spaces like that, and reduce your exposure right as the situation worsens.”
People who are generally more at risk include children, older adults, pregnant people, and people with respiratory difficulties like asthma, or COPD, Ranade said.
“So for those people, we recommend, you know, earlier than later, decide to limit your outdoor exposures, certainly don't do strenuous exercise outside,” he said.
While organized sports can depend on the decisions of organizers, independent athletic ventures like a bike ride or a run should be guided by individual symptoms, said Ranade.
“So don't push yourself so hard that you're too far away that it's hard to get back, right? If you change your mind along the way, don't go so far away that now you're facing a much harder effort to come back to an indoor space that you were looking to go to, right?”
Long term exposure is also a consideration, said Ranade.
“In terms of the long term effects, I think that the goal is to minimize your overall long term exposure,” he said. He encouraged focusing on outdoor activities when days are clear, and on hazy days with poorer air quality, focus on indoor activities in indoor settings.
When there are higher levels of particles in the air, Ranade said there is, over time, a higher level of death from all causes.
Additionally, in the short term, emergency rooms see more visits for conditions like asthma and COPD, which can become difficult to manage with poorer air quality, said Ranade.
Ranade also said that wearing a mask outside shouldn’t embolden people to feel like they can do their normal outdoor activities when the air quality is poor.
“The actual better strategy is stay indoors. So go to cleaner air environments rather than doing everything that you do, but putting on a mask, right?”
To preserve the air quality indoors, the Yukon government recommends closing the windows and using an air purifier with a HEPA filter.
However, in situations where the weather is hot, opening the windows and being exposed to smoke is preferable to developing heat stroke, said Ranade, noting that Yukon homes are built to trap heat.
Contact Talar Stockton at talar.stockton@yukon-news.com
