After a few days of relief, Prince George is faced with another Dust Advisory.
It was issued by the Ministry of Environment and Northern Health on Friday due to high concentrations of fine particulate matter in the air.
The advisory has come back to the Northern Capital as dusty conditions have been caused by road traffic stirring up winter traction materials that have accumulated on roadways over the past winter.
The Provincial Ambient Air Quality Objective for dust is 50 micrograms per cubic metre, averaged over 24 hours. The current 24-hour average concentrations for Prince George is nearly doubling that, currently sitting at 94.6 micrograms per cubic metre.
Air Quality Meteorologist, Gail Roth told MyPGNow why we’re going through this once again.
“It’s pretty much the same picture as last week where we’ve got another stable air mass moving in through much of the province and the reason why it was rescinded a few days ago is that there was a front that came through the atmosphere.”
Roth has a few tips to help avoid any personal health risks during this time.
“Obviously, avoid being around busy roadways where the dust is quite heavy and maybe keep your windows and doors closed as it would also help to have an air cleaner in your home as well.”
Roth expects the advisory to stay in place for the majority of the weekend.
“This airmass is continually moving over the province and in this case, we have another stable air mass in place for at least the next 48 hours and possibly longer.”
Exposure to the fine particulate matter is a concern for infants, the elderly and those who have diabetes, lung or heart disease.
With files from Brendan Pawliw, MyPGNow
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