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Abstract

Wildfire smoke is a major contributor to extreme particulate matter (PM) air pollution events and has been associated with respiratory and cardiovascular health effects. With climate change, more frequent and intense wildfires are expected in the future and their impact on public health will likely increase. The existing exposure assessment tools such as the monitoring network and remote sensing platforms have limitations for measuring wildfire smoke, including inadequate coverage and measuring total column instead of ground-level concentrations. From the public health perspective, a system that can supplement these tools and predict smoke concentrations will be valuable. The Western Canada BlueSky Smoke Forecasting System, which can predict PM₂.₅ (PM