27 days of haze and counting: Calgary's felt more like Toronto than big-sky country, climatologist says
Wildfire smoke drifting over the mountains from British Columbia all summer has made Calgary look more like Toronto or Hamilton than the big sky country it's known as, says an Environment Canada senior climatologist.
David Phillips says that in an average summer we might see one or two days with smoke or haze.
Since the beginning of July, we've had 27, according to Phillips.
"In Calgary, you often look at the visibility and you see 24 to 34 kilometres — it's like you see forever," he said.
"And with those kind of smoky skies, something that's very characteristic, very much part of the bragging rights of Calgary, is not there. The fact that you can't see very far, it looks more like the industrial heartland."
Phillips says the smoke from the B.C. forest fires is lingering because Calgary is sitting under a dome of high pressure.
There were several days in July and August when Calgary's air quality prompted health warnings.
Phillips says the extended dry spell hasn't helped, either.
"You've had … in July, just as an example, seven days with rain. You normally would have double that," he said.
"And so therefore the rain is not washing the air away."
Cara Pagnucco, a tree specialist with Sunnyside Garden Centre, says there's more than one reason we're already seeing autumn colours in the city.
"Our weather's kind of strange," she said.
"We've had a lot of smoke this year, prolonged heat, and really no moisture, which factors into everything, and then we've had really cool nights, so that's kind of started the process of fall."
She says the secret to postponing fall colours in your trees — for a few weeks, at least — is to keep watering.
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