About the Air Quality Health Index | Alberta.ca

The AQHI provides a number on a 1 to 10 scale to indicate the level of relative health risk associated with local air quality. This scale is intended as a self- ... Tableofcontents AirQualityHealthIndexAbouttheAirQualityHealthIndexAirqualityandhealthCalculationAQHIresources UsetheinteractiveAirQualityHealthIndex(AQHI)map ordownloadtheWeatherCAN App totrackairqualityinyourcommunity. Overview TheAQHIprovidesanumberona1to10scaletoindicatethelevelofrelativehealthriskassociatedwithlocalairquality.Thisscaleisintendedasaself-calibratingtool;peoplemayusetheirownexperienceandsymptomsasaguide.Thegeneralpopulationandat-riskpopulation(children,elderlypeople,andthosewithpre-existingrespiratoryorcardiovasculardisease)mayadjusttheirdailybehaviourasneededdependingonthecurrentobservationandforecastedAQHIvalue. ThehighertheAQHInumber,thegreaterthepotentialhealthriskandneedtotakeprecautions. Occasionallyduringextremepollutionevents,suchasawildfiresmokeevent,AQHIlevelsmayreach7–10,indicatingHighHealthRisk,or10+,indicatingVeryHighHealthRisk. PlanningOutdoorActivitieswiththeAQHI TheAQHIisdesignedtohelpyoumakedecisionstoprotectyourhealthandtheenvironmentby: Limitingshort-termexposuretoairpollution AdjustingyouroutdooractivityduringepisodesofincreasedairpollutionandencouragingphysicalactivityoutdoorsondayswhentheAQHIislower Reducingyourpersonalcontributiontoairpollution Eachindividualreactsdifferentlytoairpollution.TheAQHIprovidesspecificadviceforpeoplewhoare atrisk totheeffectsofairpollutionaswellasforthegeneralpublic. AQHIForecasts TheAQHIforecastshealthriskfromairquality,bothonanhourlybasisandasamaximumforlongerperiodsofthedaysuchastonightandtomorrow.ChecktheAQHIinyourcommunitybeforeheadingofftoworkorplay,andusetheforecaststoplanyouractivities,whetheroverthenexthourorthenextday.FormoreinformationonAQHIforecastingsee: GuidetoAirQualityHealthIndexforecasts AQHIHealthMessages Eachlevelofhealthriskisassociatedwithapairofhealthmessages,fortheatriskandthegeneralpopulations.Itsuggestsstepsyoucantaketoreduceyourpollutionexposure. HealthRisk AirQuality HealthIndex HealthMessages AtRiskPopulation GeneralPopulation LowRisk 1–3 Enjoyyourusualoutdooractivities. Idealairqualityforoutdooractivities. ModerateRisk 4–6 Considerreducingorreschedulingstrenuousactivitiesoutdoorsifyouareexperiencingsymptoms. Noneedtomodifyyourusualoutdooractivitiesunlessyouexperiencesymptomssuchascoughingandthroatirritation. HighRisk 7–10 Reduceorreschedulestrenuousactivitiesoutdoors.Childrenandtheelderlyshouldalsotakeiteasy. Considerreducingorreschedulingstrenuousactivitiesoutdoorsifyouexperiencesymptomssuchascoughingandthroatirritation. VeryHighRisk 10+ Avoidstrenuousactivitiesoutdoors.Childrenandtheelderlyshouldalsoavoidoutdoorphysicalexertion. Reduceorreschedulestrenuousactivitiesoutdoors,especiallyifyouexperiencesymptomssuchascoughingandthroatirritation. Formoreinformationonthosewhoareatrisk,see: AirQualityandHealth ReducingAirPollution Weallaffectairquality.Thereareactionseveryonecantaketoreduceairpollution,andkeeptheaircleanerandhealthierforpeopletobreathe. WhentheAQHIisintheHighorVeryHigh-riskcategory,eachofuscanchangeouractionstopolluteless.Wecan: Burnless(fireplace,firepit) Carpool Idleless Reduceenergyusage Taketransit,bikeorwalk Formoreinformationsee: ClearingourAir Related AQHIResources BlueSkyWildfireSmokeForecast AirQualityHealthIndex Wasthispagehelpful? Yes No Allfieldsarerequiredunlessotherwiseindicated. Whatwereyoutryingtodo?(500characterlimit) Whatwentwrong?(500characterlimit) Sendyourfeedback Youwillnotreceiveareply.Donotenteranypersonalinformationsuchastelephonenumbers,addresses,oremails. YoursubmissionsaremonitoredbyourwebteamandareusedtohelpimprovetheexperienceonAlberta.ca.Ifyourequirearesponse,pleasegotoourContactpage.