Smoked!
Having lived in several of the world's then 10 most air-polluted cities - I can say from experience: Nelson - 25 Aug. - is right up there with them!
When the air is bad elsewhere: in a city farther away or really far - like Beijing - our news-media talk with great relish in great detail about their air-pollution and its detrimental effect on children and seniors particularly. Bad, bad government!
With actually every day density of pollution measured in Beijing on an index easily understood, compared, remembered - when it reaches a sooner-than-later killer-level: schools close; parents keep children indoors; seniors go out as little as possible; the general public wears face-masks and keeps physical activity outdoors to a minimum. Outdoor-sports are out - run for your life! Only cars with odd/even plate-numbers are allowed on streets.
This pollution-index - a scientific check-then-prediction of air "content" plus wind-currents - forewarns to allow for preparations on an individual and from there group level.
Out of concerns for children: sealed, air-conditioned/filtered sports-complexes have been built lately in affluent Shanghai schools. Thus physical activities can be on-going - no matter how much harder pollution may (and is expected to!) hit!
On the CBC out of Kelowna - it's not called air-pollution but haze or at worst smoke! Sunny skies with. All day long, every day - in every weather update. Smoke - in silly banter! - is relegated to being an acceptable/accepted sideshow.
For us in Nelson this is not a joke, Mr. Walker!
Smoke only gains importance when we add the word inhalation to it (but we don't!) - as in smoke-inhalation. Notching-up its reality-factor significantly: we know that people die of smoke-inhalation in house-fires. As they may here - just over more prolonged stretches of painful time! Less for smokers!
Daily Smoky Skies Advisories - on www.theweathernetwork.com - do not call the situation what it is: heavily air-polluted. And while they give some of the advise above to those who access this website: density of pollution - if actually measured across affected areas - is not communicated in simple, clear pictures to the average effected/affected through a pollution-index.
Bits of these advisories are sometimes sleepwalked by local media online - never within a local context. There is generic sameness to them: the repetitive becoming repetitious and who cares. While an index does exist - why isn't it in daily use for the general public?
With little wind thus little movement - trapped car-exhaust hovering within the fug (this urban combo never mentioned - think our valley-location!) - the area-weather-pattern is not expected to change in the foreseeable future. The sky just filling-up with more smoke+ - making it denser!
Super natural BC smoke - heavy pollution by any other name ...!
Up In Smoke!
Particulates - small but not that small burned-stuff bits - go up as/in smoke. The thicker the smoke - the more threatening to health because the more stuff enters the body as unacceptably poisonous matter. Some leaves - too much doesn't. And if this process goes on for a while - accumulation is hazardous. Eventually possibly kick-starting emphysema, lung-cancer, etc. etc. etc. in adults - developmental problems in children. Even may have more immediate results! I simplify - but there (here!) we have it: lumpy air! And the more rapidly we breathe - the more of the stuff we shovel in.
Like at some point when writing this getting-up to stretch: I see a long line of smallish children - some carrying bags - and several supervising adults - teachers? - jogging along High St. towards downtown, the same at the same time along Front below. Hordes of them in a hurry! And who knows what they will be expected to do (outdoors?) when they get there. Under prevailing circumstances - I can't see Elephant Mtn. from High! - not in these children's interest. And irresponsible of minders/planners - even though not forewarned hint-hint! - who should know by looking up and connecting the dots.
The local camp-ground still is completely full. What are happy campers doing all day/waiting for?
Blowing Smoke!
While today's weather-updates on the CBC - in a parallel reality - announce a sunny sky with heavy smoke for Nelson.Totally disregarding the literally in-your-face severity of lasting heavy smoke: to me today - 25 Aug. - far more severe and already longer-lasting than any other wildfire-smoke situation here ever; they do not mention that this blanket is so solid-thick that the sun barely makes it through - so we certainly don't have what's a sunny sky to them! This is incomprehensible - particularly with the CBC's man-on-the-spot - Bob Keating - located here.
Back to China. In the 90s air-pollution is measured in major cities - all very polluted - on an index with 300 whatever the worst. Published official measurements never reach even close to 300 anywhere: resulting loss of face for one city over another is not an option. While everybody knows that most measure off-the-charts consistently.
It's sort of the same all over the BC map: some haze, haze, smoke, rarely heavy smoke - air-pollution is not mentioned! Ever! By the Ministry of the Environment in co-operation with the Interior Health Authority, originating flat general reports for this and that wider area via theweathernetwork. Routine content and wording day-after-day.
They couldn't possibly be that stupid; so - getting down to it now - I wonder whether all this low-density info is generated - from Ministry to media - just to keep tourists coming! Conspiracy theories? The norm in Canadian politics! Rhetorical questions: Would tourists still come, knowing BC air-pollution in places has reached dangerously way-too-high levels? More important - that a tan is out? And if they do come - will they make it back home?
Reality-based local info from local news-media - as opposed to the sunny smoke-screen or no info at all - for those without a leave-or-stay option - may prompt locals to make essential day-by-day adjustments/preparations for the dog, kids, parents, gran. And the wife!
Daily pollution-index-based online announcements and forecasts for tomorrow!
This is serious!
Sooooo .... health or wealth? As in coughing all the way to the bank!
Installations: Berndnaut Smilde
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