Air quality off the charts

Photo: @KimKimH Twitter

UPDATE 3:30 p.m.

The air quality rating in Kamloops and continued to skyrocket in the wrong direction. As of 3 p.m., it was measured at 49 out of 10.

ORGINAL 1:15 p.m.

Nearly the entire southern half of British Columbia remains under air quality advisories due to wildfire smoke, but no city has been hit as hard as Kamloops.

As of 12 p.m. Thursday, the air quality rating in Kamloops was pegged at 24, on a scale out of 10.

For context, current ratings in the Okanagan Valley are in the range of four and five.

It is expected that things will improve in Kamloops somewhat tonight and tomorrow, with ratings of seven and eight expected.

Radio NL is reporting that Environment Canada expected the poor air quality to stick around for at least a week.

Photo: Contributed