Calgary's air quality was rated as unhealthy as higher-polluting regions of China on Monday evening, as heavy smoke blew into the city from wildfires in California. Environment and Climate Change Canada issued a special air quality statement for the city and surrounding areas at 7:26 p.m., warning that a cold front was moving through southern Alberta bringing in smoke that would reduce visibility and air quality. Wildfires in California have destroyed more than 1,000 homes, and have forced more than 200,000 people to flee their communities. The World Air Quality Index, a non-profit that tracks air quality from monitoring stations around the world, rated the city's air quality as 152, in the "unhealthy" range, as of 7 p.m. That rating is comparable to China's air quality rating, which was sitting at 155. The air in Santa Cruz, California, near the worst of the state's wildfires, was at 298, near the upper end of the scale.

Source: CBC News August 25, 2020 02:30 UTC