Thick smoke to linger in Sask. until Friday

Saskatchewan has been inundated with a thick blanket of smoke this week from wildfires that continue to rage on in the province's north.

It looks like the haze may be sticking around for a few days.

Strong northerly winds have pushed smoke from fires burning around La Ronge toward south and central Saskatchewan, prompting air quality warnings throughout the province. 

Regina, Saskatoon and surrounding communities, and La Ronge and surrounding communities are under air quality warnings as of Tuesday, the most severe level of air quality alert.

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) confirmed that as winds from the north continue pushing smoke south, the situation may only worsen in the coming days, with no relief in store until Friday.

"It looks like it's gonna linger for a couple days," Crawford Luke, a meteorologist with ECCC, said. "There's just a huge amount of smoke up north. Anytime we get into these northerly winds, unfortunately we're kind of stuck with it."

Luke said a strong southerly wind is needed to keep smoke away from communities in the south. A shift in wind direction is forecasted to begin late Thursday and into Friday. Air quality alerts are likely to remain in place until then.

Rainfall isn't enough to dissipate smoke

Rainfall began in the province Saturday and scattered showers have continued throughout the week. 

Despite Saskatoon receiving 52 mm of rain since Saturday, air quality in the city remains at its worst.

Luke said that although rain can help alleviate smoky skies, it can also sometimes have the opposite effect.

"With rain, sometimes it can clear things out for a little bit. Other times the rain, as it's falling through the atmosphere, can actually bring down smoke from higher up in the atmosphere, so you don't actually end up cleaning the air."

Luke said people in south and central Saskatchewan should limit their time outdoors as much as possible until the smoke dissipates Friday.

"If people have things that they're hoping to do around the house or around the yard that's outside, [ideally] they're able to hold off until Thursday evening or Friday to do those things."