Current Venting Index

Understand the Ventilation Index

Before you burn, you must check the Ventilation Index which changes daily. The Ventilation Index is a forecast released daily by Environment and Climate Change Canada. It estimates how well the atmosphere disperses smoke on any given day. The index is similar to a weather forecast, except it provides information on how well smoke will mix into the air.

To predict ventilation, the index uses both:

• The mixing height of the atmosphere
  • This means, how high smoke will rise
• The wind speed

With a higher mixing height and sufficient wind speeds, smoke should disperse and not impact neighbours.

Forecast categories

The forecast is broken down into Good, Fair and Poor ventilation.

To start a burn in most populated areas of the province, a Ventilation Index of Good is required.

Often in the winter, there are long periods of time where the ventilation index is Poor. During these times, please be patient and check conditions daily. More favourable ventilation is often seen in the fall and spring or ‘shoulder’ seasons of burning.