2017 Annual Regional Air Quality Index Statistics by Sector

Ministère de l’Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs

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2017 Annual Regional Air Quality Index Statistics
by Sector

Air quality varied considerably among the 17 urban sectors for which the AQI was calculated. In 2017, the percentage of “poor”* air quality days varied from less than 1% (in Lévis and Shawinigan) to 28% (in Témiscaming).

Compared to the previous year, the average proportion of days when air quality was “good,” “acceptable,” or “poor” remained stable for all sectors at 52%, 43% and 5% respectively.

It should be noted that unlike regional statistics, which rely mainly on homogeneous measurements of fine particulate matter and ozone, sector statistics can take into account pollutants from a local source that is not detected at the regional level. As a result, the value of the AQI in a sector may differ from that of the region in which the sector is located.

Local sources of atmospheric emissions affecting a sector’s AQI vary from one area to another.

*This is the case when the concentration of at least one of the contaminants used to calculate the AQI is greater than the hourly reference value at any one of the regional stations.