No timeline for smoke easing up throughout Sask., heatwave ends

The smoke is expected to start getting worse in parts of Saskatchewan and it’s being described as a “complicated” issue.

That’s according to Terri Lang, a meteorologist with Environment Canada.

“I think Tuesday will be particularly bad when it comes to wildfire smoke in the south. Our models are indicating air quality will really decrease tomorrow,” she said. “The situation from the smoke is quite complicated. The smoke that you’re seeing over southern Saskatchewan right now is actually coming from eastern Manitoba with some contributions from Montana.

“We are not even seeing the smoke from northern Saskatchewan that’s making its way into southern Saskatchewan yet.”

The smoky sky is expected to make things feel a bit cooler while also impacting the amount of rain that is expected to come down in the following days.

“When there’s a lot of smoke, it suppresses the atmosphere and the ability to create showers and thunder showers,” Lang said. “So, we are not getting a lot of relief that way.

“We were forecasting a lot of intense heat this week and we are not going to be able to see that now because of all the smoke that’s in the way so it’s kind of a blessing in that regard.”

Lang says she is unsure as to how much rain could come down over the next few days but that northern regions of Sask. will need any amount of rain that they can get to help suppress the on-going fires in the province.

As of late Monday morning, there were still 161 wildfires burning in Saskatchewan and only 15 were contained.

The entire province is currently included in an air quality advisory that can be seen by clicking here.