Well, suffice it to say it's very smokey in southwest Saskatchewan. 

That is because of the continued wildfires in central and northern Alberta, along with the ones raging in northern Saskatchewan. 

The reason why all of the smoke from those fires has ended up in the southwest is because of a weather pattern that emerged yesterday in Alberta. 

Rose Carlsen, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, explains just what happened. 

"There was a minor disturbance that went through central Alberta and down through into southeastern Saskatchewan," said Carlsen. "What it did as it moved southeast was wrap up a whole bunch of that wildfire smoke from the north around behind it and funnelled it down into southwestern Saskatchewan."

This smoke has dragged the air quality down in the area, marking an air quality index of 11. During these extreme smoke conditions, folks are strongly encouraged to stay inside and to drink lots of water. 

"It's unfortunately probably going to be still pretty bad for the rest of today," said Carlsen. "We're expecting it to start easing overnight, and then tomorrow should start to really clear up."

Swift Current Online will provide any updates as they emerge.