The B.C.L. Ministry of Environment and Northern Health have canceled, for now, the air quality advisory which has been in effect since Tuesday.
Ministry of Environment air quality meteorologist Dennis Fudge said the conditions which created the air quality issues are still in place. Unless that changes, another air quality advisory could be put in place later today or tomorrow.
"We've still got that high pressure, stagnant conditions," Fudge said. "Today shouldn't be too bad, but depending on what happens this evening it could get bad again."
If the clear conditions with light winds continue, another air advisory could be issued within 24 to 48 hours, he said.
"If these clouds come through as forecast and possibly flurries, it should clear up," he said.
A build up of cloud cover would prevent the air inversion conditions which trap fine particulate matter in the bowl area of the city.
As of 8 a.m., the 24-hour rolling average for ultra-fine particulate matter, called PM 2.5, was 19 micrograms per cubic metre of air at the Plaza 400 monitoring site downtown and 16 micrograms per cubic metre of air at the College Heights station. The provincial air quality objective for PM 2.5 is 25 micrograms per cubic metre of air or less.
At the same time the 24-hour rolling average for fine particulate, PM 10, was measured at 61 micrograms per cubic metre of air at Plaza 400, 36 micrograms per cubic metre of air at College Heights and 50 micrograms at the BCR site.
The provincial standard for PM 10 is 50 micrograms per cubic metre.
