With the forest fires still raging in northern Quebec, how is the air quality in your city? And how should you react to it?
Good luck answering these questions clearly.
On Wednesday morning, the Government of Canada’s “Air Quality Health Index” gave a value of 2 out of 10 for Quebec City, with 10 being the worst value. This corresponds to a pale blue code.
The Quebec Ministry of the Environment, for its part, placed the national capital in a green zone, with a value of 22. While digging, we discover that this figure represents the concentration of fine particles of less than 2.5 micrometers, measured in micrograms per square meter.
To complicate matters, the IQAir site, which counts the most polluted cities in the world every day in partnership with the United Nations, uses its own color code.
Obviously, each color of each system corresponds to a range of recommendations, not always consistent with each other.
No wonder it’s hard to find.
In recent weeks, we have seen citizens take out their good old intervention masks to protect themselves from the smoke. The experts are however formal: if these masks had their usefulness for the COVID by blocking the droplets, they will not prevent the fine particles from reaching your lungs. Only a properly fitting N95 type mask can achieve this.
There has also been some confusion at the City of Montreal, which last week closed several sports facilities due to air quality, even though the Montreal Regional Public Health Department had not recommended. The desire to protect municipal employees working outdoors is obviously commendable, but the City seemed to be navigating by sight rather than following a clear protocol.
These confusions can be explained. Until now, air quality was not a major concern in Quebec. So we are learning.
However, we will have to get used to it. With climate change, forest fires and smog episodes are expected to become more frequent.
Quebec should first consider the best air quality index to use. British Columbia, ahead of us in this area, publishes an “Air Quality Plus” adapted from the federal one. In ten levels, it offers more precision than the current “good, bad, acceptable” index of Quebec. Why not take inspiration from it?
Each level of the scale must then be accompanied by clear and concise recommendations. Quebecers have integrated the notions of the Humidex Index and the Wind Chill Factor and use them to plan their activities. The same reflexes should be developed for air quality.
Another public health challenge is to manage the “heat wave + smog” combination, which will become more frequent in a warmer world.
One of the solutions for municipalities is to keep a list of places that provide not only fresh air, but also clean air to citizens. We think of community centers and shopping malls, for example.
Isabelle Goupil-Sormany, medical advisor to the air science team at the Institut national de santé publique du Québec, insists that if we have to choose between cooling off and protecting ourselves from smog, must take precedence”. That, too, should be better known.
Citizens will also have to develop the reflex of putting their air exchanger in recirculation mode when the air quality deteriorates, and learn to know if their air conditioner protects them from fine particles. Does the unit bring outdoor air in or exhaust indoor air out? Does it have a filter? If in doubt, consult a professional.
You should also know that an air purifier placed in a room can help clean the air there.
The clouds of smoke enveloping Quebec this summer are sending us a signal: that we have a whole swathe of new knowledge and new reflexes to acquire. Public health authorities must guide us through this fog.