Central Sask. to get some relief from wildfire smoke while heat warnings to expand

Some people living under a special air quality statement will be able to catch a breath of fresh air on Wednesday.

Kayla Bilous, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, says some wind will clear the wildfire smoke from the north.

“We are going to see a southerly flow today that should push out some of the smoke from southern Saskatchewan back into northern Saskatchewan. We should see some improvement today with air quality,” Bilous said.

As of Wednesday morning, the special air quality statement covered the far north down to areas around Humboldt, Wynyard, Kamsack, Canora and Saskatoon.

While Bilous says those in the south will get some relief from the smoke, it might not be for long.

“It could also come back tomorrow, later in the day, as the flow switches back to more of a northwesterly flow,” she said. “That could bring the smoke back down into the southern region there.”

She suggested that people limit their time outdoors as “it’s obviously not good for your lungs to be breathing that for long periods of time.”

Meanwhile, the western edge of the province is under a heat warning, with daytime highs forecast between 29 and 33 C. Overnight lows will stay in the high teens.

Bilous says the heat will be sticking around for a while.

“That is looking like it will be quite a prolonged event. Looks like it’ll last into the weekend and evening, even into early next week,” she said. “It will also be extended to the rest of the province by the end of the week.”

Her advice is for people to stay inside, to stay cool and hydrated and to monitor for symptoms of heat stroke. Some of those include dizziness, disorientation and the inability to keep sweating.