Ever wonder “how is Canada’s air quality?” Find out more about the air we breath as Dr. Galarneau, a research scientist specializing in the quality of Canada’s air, answers this question and tells us how Canada’s air quality is measured.

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KERBENS BOISETTE (Host, Ask a Scientist, Environment and Climate Change Canada):
Today on Ask A Scientist, we're talking about air pollution.

ATHANAS (Ottawa):
How bad is the pollution in Canada, and how do you measure it?

KERBENS BOISETTE:
You can't always see it, even when it's all around you. So how do we know what's going on?
Elisabeth, what can you tell us about air pollution in Canada and how we monitor it?

ELISABETH GALARNEAU (Research Scientist, Environment and Climate Change Canada):
Let's start with one of the most common air pollutants: it's called particulate matter, or PM for short, and includes all the tiny particles that float in the air around us. PM can create a murky haze when there is smog or a wildfire nearby and inhaling PM can lead to negative health impacts.

PM pollution in Canada and other developed countries is less severe than in other parts of the world. On average, Canadian levels are lower than the guidelines set by the World Health Organization and only 2% of Canadians are exposed to PM levels that exceed that guideline.
Compare that to India, the country with the highest average PM levels, where 100% of the population is exposed to concentrations that are greater than that W.H.O. guideline. When evaluated this way, the situation in Canada looks very good.

Computer models developed by scientists at Environment and Climate Change Canada show how much the levels of PM can vary within a country as large as Canada. These models couldn't be developed or validated without direct measurements of pollutants in air.

The simplest measurements draw air through filters and weigh the collected particles on a scale. Many other measurement techniques exist, and these can be deployed on the ground, from airplanes, and even from satellites.

So far, we've been using particular matter as an example of an air pollutant, but PM is made up of many different chemical compounds -- things like soot and metals -- and each of these can be considered a pollutant in its own right. Still other pollutants are not particles at all; they are gases that mix with the rest of the air.

We don't know as much about many of these pollutants as we do about PM or about how they interact when mixed together. This is why air quality is still such an active field of research. Thanks for your interest in air pollution and stay tuned for future episodes of Ask a Scientist.

KERBENS BOISETTE:
Thankfully we have scientists like Elisabeth who monitor our air quality and keep us informed.
Remember, if you have a question for our scientists, send if to us on social media with the hashtag, AskAScientist.
I'm your host Kerbens, and see you next time.

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