Calgary set a new record of nearly 500 smoke hours so far this year

Summer is on its way out for Calgary, and it sure has been a smoky one, with the city setting a new record for smoke hours recorded.

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) released a summary of smoke hours in Alberta from May 1 to September 5, and YYC recorded a wicked 499 hours.

This year has eclipsed the record of 450 hours set back in 2018, with records being kept since 1953.

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Calgary even beat out our sister city to the north, with Edmonton clocking 266 hours, which also broke the old record.

Other spots reached record smoke hours, with Peace River landing a new record of 644 hours, eclipsing the old record of 238 hours set in 1982.

Grande Prairie also set a record with 635 smoke hours, beating out the old record of 194 set in 2018, and Cold Lake amassed 523 smoke hours, shattering the old record of 198 hours set in 2018.

A “smoke hour” is considered when visibility is reduced to 9.7 km (6 SM) or less in smoke, according to the ECCC. Data is calculated for stations with human-made observations 24 hours a day, seven days a week.