Air quality worsens in British Columbia

Air quality is said to have deteriorated yesterday in parts of Canada due to record-breaking temperatures and smoke from wildfires.

Residents of Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and the British Columbia Interior have been experiencing worsened air quality conditions because of smog caused by a combination of heat and smoke from forest fires, according to Metro Vancouver staff.

Air quality planner Laurie Bates-Frymel told the Vancouver Sun that the air quality index was at level six out of ten on Wednesday.

A rating of eight or nine on the scale would signal a "high risk" of the pollution having an effect on the health of the general population, which would lead air quality planners to urge the public to remain indoors.

Meanwhile, a survey by the Public Policy Institute of California revealed earlier this week that the percentage of Californians who think that poor air quality in the state is a "big problem" has dramatically decreased over the past few years.