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Today's air quality in Hay River in plain words, focused on summer wildfire smoke, with a link to Environment Canada's official health index.
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Today's air quality in Hay River, in plain language, updated through the day. In summer the question here is almost always wildfire smoke.
Good Air quality is satisfactory and pollution poses little or no risk — no reason to change any plans.
| Day | Air quality |
|---|---|
| Mon, Aug 24 | Moderate |
| Tue, Aug 25 | Moderate |
| Wed, Aug 26 | Moderate |
| Thu, Aug 27 | Moderate |
In the 2023 fire season, smoke and fire forced a month-long evacuation of Hay River. Through the summer, the air you breathe here depends mostly on how close the wildfires are burning and which way the wind is blowing. This page reads fine-particle smoke (PM2.5) — the part of wildfire smoke that matters most for your lungs and heart.
The reading here comes from a global air-quality model. It is good for the general picture, but it is not a measurement taken at your doorstep. Environment Canada's Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) is the official health scale for the Northwest Territories — it tells you who should take it easy and when. During a smoky spell, check the AQHI for Hay River (linked below) and follow its advice.
On heavy-smoke days, keep windows and doors closed, run a clean-air space if you have one, and go easy on outdoor work. Smoke is hardest on older people, young children, pregnant people, and anyone with heart or lung conditions. For current wildfire locations and any evacuation alerts, follow NWT Fire and NWT Alert, not rumours.
Updated . These are modelled estimates for the area around Hay River, not readings from a street monitor — air right beside a busy road can be worse than the area-wide picture. The official index where you are is the Air Quality Health Index from Environment and Climate Change Canada. Official forecast: weather.gc.ca. Air quality data by Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0), based on Copernicus CAMS.
Good
US Air Quality Index (EPA) 31 · Hay River