黑料吃瓜网

When it comes to the weather, you can't take anything for granted in Arviat, said Joe Jr. Savikataaq, the community's mayor. 

Savikataaq said for a number of days last week, visibility was down to three-eighths of a mile in Arviat, courtesy of thick smoke from Manitoba and Saskatchewan enveloping the community. 

He said the lowered visibility could affect aircraft coming to the community and the smoke really hinders one's visibility out on the land.

"Someone could get lost out on the land quite easily when it's conditions like this," said Savikataaq.

"When you're out on the land and the visibility is good, you can see landmarks, hills and things of that nature. But, when it's smoky, like we are right now, if you can't see the sun, it can be hard to tell where you are."

Savikataaq said, at some points, you can tell where the sun is but you still can't see that far horizontally.

He said it seems like the challenging conditions have been happening more frequently during the past few years.

"This magnitude, with the smoke so thick and so strong, is becoming more the norm every summer now and the smell is very bad. It's a really strong smoke smell.

"There was even an air-quality warning put out by Environment Canada this (past) week, stating that smoke is causing, or is expected to cause, poor air quality and reduced visibility for Arviat. Environment Canada is saying conditions are expected to improve as the week goes by, however.

"How long these conditions last varies from year to year. It's never really consistent. How long they last really depends on the winds. The worst, as far as here in Arviat, are any winds that come from the south, like south, southeast and southwest.

"I'm sure this is hard on some people due to the amount of thick smoke that we're encountering; making life not the greatest because of the conditions."