If you've sniffed the sky in Airdrie in the past day or so you've likely noticed it no longer smells like a campfire.

The Air Quality Health Index in the area had dropped to a two and recently rose to a three, both of which are on the low risk end of the scale.  Earlier this week, smoke from wildfires burning in B.C. and near Banff National Park had put the Health Index into the moderate risk range.

Brian Proctor, Meteorologist with Environment Canada, says the drop is all because of a change in air flow patterns. 

"We've got a bit of a different flow pattern aloft over the atmosphere over the last 36 hours.  Some of the storms that blew through parts of the province last evening did an awful lot to improve the air quality that we've been seeing.  The forest fires are still very active in British Columbia so really we're seeing an episodic break from the smoke is probably the best way to look at it.  We're seeing little risk associated with the Air Quality Health Index and forest fire smoke in and around the Calgary and Airdrie areas but further to the west we're still seeing some problems out towards Kananaskis and Banff.  People going to the mountains this weekend are still going to experience some air quality issues, but for the next 36 to 48 hours, things look pretty good around Airdrie."

Unfortunately, Proctor says, the reprieve is likely temporary.  

"We're probably going to see a return to more elevated values of the AQHI associated with forest fire smoke coming in.  This time of year we shouldn't really expect us to remain in this northwest flow aloft for longer periods of time so if we start getting into our west to southwest flow aloft we'll start seeing that smoke come back in.  Hopefully, most of it will stay aloft which has largely been the experience over the last three or four days.  We will see episodic surfacing of that smoke."

According to Proctor, people with compromised respiratory systems still need to be aware and listen for information from Environment Canada and Alberta Health Services about how the smoke is going to behave in days to come.  

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