The Weatherhood station above the Peak office on Marine Avenue is detecting a moderate level of UV exposure today in the qathet region, meaning, a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen might be helpful to reduce harmful ultraviolet rays.
The weather forecast for Monday, May 12, to Wednesday, May 14, is for a mix of sun, cloud, a slight breeze and daytime temperatures of 15 to 16 degrees, and no rain. There is an 85 per cent chance of rain on Thursday, May 15 and a daytime temperature of 11 degrees, dropping to seven degrees overnight.
Although the qathet region has been fairly unscathed by wildfires in the past few years, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), wildfire season is back and fires are already burning across parts of Canada.
In 2023, nearly 93 per cent of the total area burned in Canada was caused by lightning. ECCC warned that while human activity was responsible for only seven per cent of the area burned, human ignition still accounted for 40 per cent of the 6,700 fires recorded.
"Wildfires can move fast and change direction without warning, leaving little time to react. Wind, weather and the land around us all play a role in how a wildfire behaves, how quickly it spreads, how intense it gets and how much smoke it creates," stated ECCC. "Protecting oneself from wildfire smoke is just as important as preparing for the fire itself. Smoke can drift far from the source and still impact well-being."
Weatherhood has a Health Quality Index to track real-time air quality and ECCC has a Wildfire Smoke Forecast Maps to track where smoke is expected to travel.
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