Record-Breaking Smoke Hours For Lakeland

Environment Canada says the Lakeland set a record-breaking number of smoke hours this summer, and the story is much the same across a good chunk of Alberta. The previous record at the Cold Lake weather station, where records have been kept since 1956, was 198 hours, set in both 2018 and 1981. This year, there was 523 hours of smoke… one of the highest in the province. Edmonton, Calgary, Peace River, and Grande Prairie also set new records this year. A “smoke hour” is considered when visibility is reduced to just shy of 10 kilometres or less in smoke.