Air quality in Canada
Air quality in British Columbia today
Updated
Good: average US AQI 38 across 14 cities in British Columbia Worst now: Vernon (70); cleanest: Mission, BC (26).
Live US AQI, PM2.5 and ozone for cities across British Columbia, compared with the Canada average.
- Average US AQI
- 38 Good
- Canada average
- 43 78 cities
- Most polluted now
- Vernon AQI 70
- Cleanest now
- Mission, BC AQI 26
- Cities above 100
- 0
Air quality in British Columbia today
Right now the modelled air quality in British Columbia averages a US AQI of 38 (Good) across the 14 cities we track. By category: 11 Good, 3 Moderate (of 14).
That is 5 points cleaner than the Canada average of 43, ranking 8 of 10 provinces from cleanest to most polluted.
Vernon has the worst air at 70 (PM2.5 7.3 µg/m³), and Mission, BC the cleanest at 26. No tracked city is above 100, so no group needs to change plans.
British Columbia cities by AQI (most polluted first)
| City | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ | PM10 µg/m³ | Ozone µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vernon | 70 | Moderate | 7.3 | 8 | 81 |
| Kamloops | 57 | Moderate | 4.9 | 5 | 78 |
| Prince George | 55 | Moderate | 20 | 21 | 81 |
| Cranbrook | 50 | Good | 5 | 5 | 68 |
| Kelowna | 32 | Good | 4.1 | 4 | 76 |
| Vancouver | 31 | Good | 3.1 | 3 | 67 |
| Burnaby | 31 | Good | 3.1 | 3 | 67 |
| Richmond | 31 | Good | 3.1 | 3 | 67 |
| Delta | 31 | Good | 3.1 | 3 | 67 |
| Victoria | 29 | Good | 4.6 | 5 | 59 |
| Saanich | 29 | Good | 4.6 | 5 | 59 |
| Surrey | 28 | Good | 3.1 | 3 | 60 |
| Langley | 28 | Good | 3.1 | 3 | 60 |
| Mission | 26 | Good | 2.1 | 2 | 60 |
Smoky towns right now in British Columbia
4 smaller towns have a US AQI of 100 or more now or forecast within 24 hours, often from wildfire smoke.
| Town | Region | US AQI now | Peak next 24 h | PM2.5 µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smithers | British Columbia | 92 | 156 | 11.7 |
| Nelson, BC | British Columbia | 119 | 131 | 30.4 |
| Castlegar | British Columbia | 95 | 120 | 17.9 |
| Trail | British Columbia | 95 | 120 | 17.9 |
What the US AQI numbers mean
| US AQI | Category | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 0-50 | Good | Air quality is satisfactory and poses little or no risk; a good time for outdoor activity. |
| 51-100 | Moderate | Acceptable for most people. Unusually sensitive people should consider shortening long or heavy exertion outdoors. |
| 101-150 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | People with heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teens should cut back on prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors. |
| 151-200 | Unhealthy | Everyone should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors; sensitive groups should avoid it and keep windows closed. |
| 201-300 | Very Unhealthy | Health alert: everyone should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors, and sensitive groups should stay indoors. |
| 301-500 | Hazardous | Emergency conditions: everyone should avoid all outdoor physical activity and stay indoors with filtered air if possible. The scale tops out at 500; heavier dust or smoke is shown as 500. |
Modelled by CAMS (Copernicus) via Open-Meteo, refreshed twice a day; read hour by hour from the forecast.
Cities in British Columbia
- Air quality in Vancouver
- Air quality in Surrey
- Air quality in Victoria
- Air quality in Burnaby
- Air quality in Richmond
- Air quality in Coquitlam
- Air quality in Kelowna
- Air quality in Abbotsford
- Air quality in Langley
- Air quality in Saanich
- Air quality in Kamloops
- Air quality in Delta
- Air quality in Chilliwack
- Air quality in Prince George
- Air quality in Mission
- Air quality in Vernon
- Air quality in Cranbrook
- Air quality in Whistler
- Air quality in Revelstoke
- Air quality in Golden
- Air quality in Tofino
- Air quality in Ucluelet
More
Data: Open-Meteo Air Quality API, Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS).