Saskatoon, Regina set new records for wildfire smoke

WATCH: Ottawa has answered the call and is sending resources to help battle wildfires in northern Saskatchewan, hours after the province asked for help.

Saskatoon and Regina are experiencing their smokiest wildfire season on record to date, according to Environment Canada.

Christy Climenhaga, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, said Saskatoon has logged 183 hours of smoke between March and July — the highest total ever recorded by this point in the wildfire season.

The second-smokiest season by this time of year was in 2023, with 164 hours, followed by 2024 with 135 hours.

Regina has also set a new record, with 185 smoke hours recorded so far in 2025. The previous record for this point in the season was in 1995, at 168 hours, followed by 131 hours in 2015.

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With the wildfire season still underway, both cities are outpacing previous years, and smoke hours are expected to keep climbing.

“Although for the next couple of days we’re expecting some relief—winds from the south should keep that smoke further north in the province—it’s still a risk as we head through the rest of the summer,” Climenhaga said.

Looking at the full wildfire season, typically from March to October, Saskatoon reached a record high of 321 hours of smoke in 2023. The second-highest total was in 2024, with 227 hours.

Smoke hours are calculated when visibility is reduced below nine kilometres due to smoke. Records have been kept since 1953.