A meteorologist with Environment Canada suggests that this year with the hot, dry weather and increased wildfires and air quality alerts is a sign of what is to come because of climate change. Sara Hoffman expects that fire seasons will become longer, on average, with an earlier start to the season, and more dry fuel because of the hotter temperatures. She says, “What we can say is that the wildfire seasons will become more intense and more intense more frequently, if that makes sense, so there will be more years like this one repeating in the future.”

Environment Canada’s air quality alert from the wildfire smoke covers most of Saskatchewan, other than the far north and the southern quarter of the province. Hoffman advises to drink lots of water to help your body cope with the smoke, and suggests checking on people in your care and those around you who may be more susceptible to smoke. She suggests those who are more at risk should speak to their health care providers about developing a management plan for wildfire smoke events, including having enough medication on hand. Environment Canada says wildfire smoke poses a risk to everyone’s health, and in particular for children, seniors and those with heart or lung disease.

The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency is reporting 28 wildfires in the province today and five are not contained. There have been 212 fires to date which is above the five year average of 145. Hoffman notes that across Canada, any rain in the forecast, wouldn’t be enough to bring us back to our normal conditions for this time of year. “Even a normal precipitation year for the summer and particularly for June won’t make up for the deficit we are in. We are gong to need a number of days of precipitation and more than normal precipitation to kind of dig us out of this hole.