Bad-air day near British Columbia

Breathing here shouldn't cost you a pack a day.

See what the smoke in Victoria is really doing to your lungs, then find cleaner air within a drive you choose.

What is the better move today?

Pin your block or inspect another neighborhood. We compare the local air first, then weather, sunlight and the drive.

Checking the roads and nearby air.Only destinations with real road travel times will appear.

Plan the next seven days

Pick a day, or compare the whole week. Weather is forecast; air quality is the latest available reading.

Loading the week...

Finding the nicest days and reachable cities.

When could you leave?

Dates follow you into hotel searches. Live inventory is confirmed by the booking provider.

Your escape map is waking up. Every town is also in the ranked list.
Victoria (you are here) Low smoke Some particle pollution Unhealthy (sensitive) Unhealthy+ Nearby model sample

Kelowna

#1

Checking road routeBritish ColumbiaLow smoke/ PM2.5 1.4 µg/m³

PM2.5 is 1.4 µg/m³ here vs 5.3 back home.Berkeley Earth: 22 µg/m³ for 24 h ≈ 1 cigarette.12 h out ≈ 1.4/22 × 0.5 = <0.1 here; 5.3/22 × 0.5 = 0.1 at home.A health-impact equivalence, not literal smoking.See how we work it out →

▼ 3.9 µg/m³ less fine-particle pollution than Victoria right now

74% cleaner airChecking trip easeChecking nearby staysChecking today's weather

AQHI 2: Low risk (Central Okanagan station)

Observed Jul 18, 5:00 p.m. EDT

A major British Columbia city with broad lodging options and live air-quality readings for comparison when smoke shifts across the region.

Eugene

#2

Checking road routeOregonLow smoke/ PM2.5 3.6 µg/m³

PM2.5 is 3.6 µg/m³ here vs 5.3 back home.Berkeley Earth: 22 µg/m³ for 24 h ≈ 1 cigarette.12 h out ≈ 3.6/22 × 0.5 = 0.1 here; 5.3/22 × 0.5 = 0.1 at home.A health-impact equivalence, not literal smoking.See how we work it out →
32% cleaner airChecking trip easeChecking nearby staysChecking today's weather

Observed Jul 18, 5:00 p.m. EDT

A major Oregon city with broad lodging options and live air-quality readings for comparison when smoke shifts across the region.

Kamloops

#3

Checking road routeBritish ColumbiaLow smoke/ PM2.5 4.6 µg/m³

PM2.5 is 4.6 µg/m³ here vs 5.3 back home.Berkeley Earth: 22 µg/m³ for 24 h ≈ 1 cigarette.12 h out ≈ 4.6/22 × 0.5 = 0.1 here; 5.3/22 × 0.5 = 0.1 at home.A health-impact equivalence, not literal smoking.See how we work it out →
13% cleaner airChecking trip easeChecking nearby staysChecking today's weather

AQHI 3: Low risk (Kamloops station)

Observed Jul 18, 5:00 p.m. EDT

A major British Columbia city with broad lodging options and live air-quality readings for comparison when smoke shifts across the region.

Portland

#4

Checking road routeOregonLow smoke/ PM2.5 5.2 µg/m³

PM2.5 is 5.2 µg/m³ here vs 5.3 back home.Berkeley Earth: 22 µg/m³ for 24 h ≈ 1 cigarette.12 h out ≈ 5.2/22 × 0.5 = 0.1 here; 5.3/22 × 0.5 = 0.1 at home.A health-impact equivalence, not literal smoking.See how we work it out →
2% cleaner airChecking trip easeChecking nearby staysChecking today's weather

Observed Jul 18, 5:00 p.m. EDT

A major Oregon city with broad lodging options and live air-quality readings for comparison when smoke shifts across the region.

Seattle

#5

Checking road routeWashingtonLow smoke/ PM2.5 6.5 µg/m³

PM2.5 is 6.5 µg/m³ here vs 5.3 back home.Berkeley Earth: 22 µg/m³ for 24 h ≈ 1 cigarette.12 h out ≈ 6.5/22 × 0.5 = 0.1 here; 5.3/22 × 0.5 = 0.1 at home.A health-impact equivalence, not literal smoking.See how we work it out →
23% worse airChecking trip easeChecking nearby staysChecking today's weather

Observed Jul 18, 5:00 p.m. EDT

A major Washington city with broad lodging options and live air-quality readings for comparison when smoke shifts across the region.

Abbotsford

#6

Checking road routeBritish ColumbiaLow smoke/ PM2.5 7 µg/m³

PM2.5 is 7 µg/m³ here vs 5.3 back home.Berkeley Earth: 22 µg/m³ for 24 h ≈ 1 cigarette.12 h out ≈ 7/22 × 0.5 = 0.2 here; 5.3/22 × 0.5 = 0.1 at home.A health-impact equivalence, not literal smoking.See how we work it out →
32% worse airChecking trip easeChecking nearby staysChecking today's weather

AQHI 1: Low risk (Central Fraser Valley station)

Observed Jul 18, 5:00 p.m. EDT

A major British Columbia city with broad lodging options and live air-quality readings for comparison when smoke shifts across the region.

Nanaimo

#7

Checking road routeBritish ColumbiaLow smoke/ PM2.5 8.4 µg/m³

PM2.5 is 8.4 µg/m³ here vs 5.3 back home.Berkeley Earth: 22 µg/m³ for 24 h ≈ 1 cigarette.12 h out ≈ 8.4/22 × 0.5 = 0.2 here; 5.3/22 × 0.5 = 0.1 at home.A health-impact equivalence, not literal smoking.See how we work it out →

▲ Air is currently worse here than in Victoria

58% worse airChecking trip easeChecking nearby staysChecking today's weather

AQHI 2: Low risk (Nanaimo / Parksville station)

Observed Jul 18, 5:00 p.m. EDT

A major British Columbia city with broad lodging options and live air-quality readings for comparison when smoke shifts across the region.

Vancouver

#8

Checking road routeBritish ColumbiaLow smoke/ PM2.5 8.8 µg/m³

PM2.5 is 8.8 µg/m³ here vs 5.3 back home.Berkeley Earth: 22 µg/m³ for 24 h ≈ 1 cigarette.12 h out ≈ 8.8/22 × 0.5 = 0.2 here; 5.3/22 × 0.5 = 0.1 at home.A health-impact equivalence, not literal smoking.See how we work it out →

▲ Air is currently worse here than in Victoria

66% worse airChecking trip easeChecking nearby staysChecking today's weather

AQHI 2: Low risk (Metro Vancouver - NW station)

Observed Jul 18, 5:00 p.m. EDT

A major British Columbia city with broad lodging options and live air-quality readings for comparison when smoke shifts across the region.

5.3 µg/m³PM2.5 in Victoria right now
Low smokeAQHI 2: Low risk (Victoria / Saanich)Latest observation Jul 18, 5:00 p.m. EDT

Build-time readings shown

Air quality · Victoria

Clear skies! Twelve hours out here is roughlyPM2.5 here is 5.3 µg/m³.Berkeley Earth: 22 µg/m³ for 24 h ≈ 1 cigarette.12 h outside ≈ 5.3/22 × 0.5 = 0.1 cigarettes.A health-impact equivalence, not literal smoking.See how we work it out →

That is the fine-particle pollution you'd breathe standing outside all day inVictoria right now, turned into a number your body already understands.

A health-impact equivalence, not literal smoking: Berkeley Earth puts a full day at 22 µg/m³ of PM2.5 at about one cigarette.How we work this out

Why live rankings?

Smoke plumes are patchy and move with changing winds, terrain and weather. Nearby lakefront, coastal and higher-elevation places can be much clearer than Victoria, but no direction is reliably cleaner. That is why this list is recalculated from live PM2.5 readings every hour instead of publishing a fixed escape route. If everything within three hours is smoky, the rankings will say so. Sometimes the honest answer is to stay inside with a filter running.

Other Canadian cities

Other U.S. cities