The massive wildfires in Canada have turned this season into the smokiest summer ever in the largest cities of Alberta.

Data from Statistics Canada showed that Edmonton and Calgary have recorded new record hours of smoke, which are periods when the haze becomes particularly thick, reducing visibility along the horizon to 9.7 kilometers or less.

Between May and September of that year, Edmonton, the capital of the province with a population of one million, recorded 229 hours of smoke, while Calgary, the most populous city in Alberta with a population of 1.3 million, recorded 450 hours of smoke during the same period.

This year, as of September 3, Edmonton recorded 244 hours of smoke. Calgary has recorded 464 hours of smoke so far this summer.

These numbers are expected to rise as smoke continues to billow from wildfires still raging in British Columbia and northern Alberta.

More smoky days ahead:

Heather Pimisikern, a meteorologist with the Canadian Environment and Climate Change Agency, said that the change in winds means that the same smoke columns that passed through Alberta over the weekend will move across the province again in the coming days.

Pimisikern added in an interview on Monday that winds are expected to shift again tonight, blowing from the southeast tomorrow.

It is also expected that all the smoke that passed over us in the past 24 hours will return. She added that it is unfortunate that air quality will remain poor over the next few days.

After days of smoky haze, air quality data is still valid for almost the entire province. Environment Ministry alerts warn that smoke pollution can be harmful to everyone’s health, even at low concentrations.

The province spent the weekend under a blanket of smoke as air pollution reached over 10 on the air quality health index.

Alberta’s capital, Edmonton, experienced another bout of smoke and poor air quality on September 1, as did other major cities in Alberta.