Smoky conditions expected to gradually improve Thursday

Wildfire smoke visible from CTV Calgary on Thursday, Sep. 4, 2025.

Wildfire smoke was covering a good portion of Alberta Thursday morning.

Air quality warnings have been modified to cover most of Alberta including Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer, and Lethbridge.

By Thursday morning, most of the eastern border was not under that warning.

As of 7 a.m., the air quality health index in Calgary was a 5, or moderate risk.

A cold front moved through Alberta on Wednesday and now sits in southern Saskatchewan.

In its wake will be a pronounced north to south influence in the upper patterns introducing cooler air that will suppress temperatures in Alberta on Thursday, but as that low continues to track east, it will open things up for incoming wildfire smoke to spread east rather than be pushed back against the Rockies.

This disbursement should create a gradual improvement in air quality in southern Alberta over the next 24 hours.

Thursday’s daytime highs across the region will peak slightly below seasonal values, however an incoming ridge of high pressure will enter Alberta by the weekend and push temperatures back into the mid-20s with double-digit lows.

The average daytime high in Calgary this time of year is 20 C with a daily low of 6 C.