Monitoring & Forecasting

Monitoring of ambient air quality in the Sea-to-Sky Airshed is conducted by the Ministry of Environment.

Air quality in the region has been measured since the late 1970s, and is presently monitored continuously in Squamish, Whistler and Langdale. You can see current air quality levels in these locations in the Air Quality Index box on the right hand side of this screen. To learn more about the Air Quality Index and how to interpret it, go to the Air Quality Index Page.

There are also non-continuous monitoring stations in Brackendale, Garibaldi Highlands, Whistler, and Pemberton. Reports which summarize air quality from all of the monitoring stations in the Sea-to-Sky Airshed are available to download in the Air Quality Data & Reports box.

To learn more about the individual pollutants that are monitored, see the Air Quality Science page in the Reading Room.

Forecasting of air pollution levels is currently done by Environment Canada for several areas of the province. The nearest forecast location to the Sea-to-Sky region is Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. Often when large-scale air stagnation events happen in summer, they affect the entire south coast region. Presently, B.C. Ministry of Environment meteorologists predict air quality events (when the Air Quality Index is expected to be “poor”) in areas where Environment Canada forecasts are not available. This is currently the case for the Sea-to-Sky region. If an Air Quality Advisory is placed in effect in the Sea-to-Sky region, it will be broadcast on this website and through local media.