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This summer’s episodes of wildfire smoke drifting from the B.C. Interior into the Lower Mainland were “unprecedented” in their duration and the geographic area they affected, according to a Metro Vancouver staff report.

The report, which senior project engineer Francis Ries prepared for the climate action committee, noted that the regional district issued five air-quality advisories during the summer of 2017, resulting in advisories being in effect for a record 19 days.

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Metro Vancouver operates the air-quality advisory service for the entire lower Fraser Valley airshed, including the Metro Vancouver region and the Fraser Valley Regional District. The B.C. Ministry of Environment issues air-quality advisories for the rest of the province.

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An advisory for ground-level ozone — a main constituent of smog that is formed when nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds react in sunlight — was in place July 6 and 7. An advisory for fine particulate matter from forest fires was in place July 18 and 19. Three advisories for both ground-level ozone and fine particulate matter were in effect Aug. 1-12, Aug. 29-30 and Sept. 4-9.