Vancouver air quality currently ranks worst in the world

Sep 14 2020, 8:58 pm

For the second time in just days, Vancouver currently has the worst air quality in the world.

According to IQ Air’s World Major City Air Quality list, Vancouver took the top spot on Monday, ahead of several other larger cities, including, notably, Portland and Seattle, where wildfires are in much closer range.

The high ranking comes as wildfires continue to rage across the border.

“Washington wildfires burning in the western and northernmost part of the state have also affected air pollution levels in Canada, with some smoke carried more than 200 miles from the source. On Tuesday September 8, air quality levels in Richmond, Canada and Vancouver, Canada hit highs of AQI 150+, ‘unhealthy,'” noted IQ Air in a statement.

IQ Air bases its rankings on the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) air quality index (AQI) in order to “translate pollutant concentrations to a relatable scale for risk to health.”

This scale ranges from 0 to 500, where 0 is considered good air quality, 51 to 100 is moderate, 101 to 150 is unhealthy for sensitive groups, 151 to 200 is unhealthy, 201 to 300 is very unhealthy, and 301 to 500 is hazardous to health.

IQ Air notes that wildfires “release a range of air toxins including particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), carbon monoxide, and nitrogen dioxide. Among these, fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, is most often present at the riskiest levels to health.”

DH Vancouver StaffDH Vancouver Staff

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