PurpleAir monitor for checking the real-time air quality in the Crowsnest Pass. One of the monitors is located on the west side of the Municipal Office building. Nicholas L. M. Allen photo
Nicholas L. M. Allen
Sept 6, 2023
Three air sensors placed around the Crowsnest Pass will allow for 'real time' air quality monitioring.
The Crowsnest Conservation Society has obtained three air sensors from the Alberta Environment Department for the Community Wildfire Smoke Monitoring study. The three PurpleAir monitors will be part of a broader range of air quality monitoring which will now encompass the Crowsnest Pass.
Members of the public can go online to check air quality in real time and for the past 24 hours. The sensors have been donated to, and installed at, the Crowsnest Pass Municipal office in Coleman, the Peaks campus of the Livingstone Range School Division and a location in Burmis.
The readings are automatically transmitted, with these three sensors filling the current Canadian information gap between Pincher Creek and Sparwood. There is an interactive, map-based website hosted by the University of Northern British Columbia which shows particulate matter concentrations across Canada and the northern United States.
A list of websites related to these air sensors:
For viewing Air Quality map for Canada and northern USA: cyclone.unbc.ca/aqmap
For the Crowsnest Pass area: map.purpleair.com/1/mAQI/a10/p604800/cC0#8.61/49.5612/-114.4387
Information about Wildfire Smoke Monitoring in Alberta: aemeris.alberta.ca/library/Dataset/Details/739
PurpleAir Sensor Specifications: open.alberta.ca/publications/purpleair-pa-ii-air-quality-sensor
The board of the Crowsnest Conservation Society (CCS) encourages people to use this source of current and accurate information about the effect of wildfires on local air quality. The society thanked CCS member Monica Zyla for her initiative in bringing the opportunity to their attention.
For further information about the CCS organization, visit the website crowsnestconservation.ca.