The weekend's sunny skies were clouded by a thick smoke haze which rolled into B.C. from Siberia and Eastern Asia last week. According to Steve Saklyama from the Ministry of Environment, the smoke blanketing the Northern Interior region has rolled across the Pacific and is hovering around parts of B.C.

The smoke haze is expected to linger for a week.

The Ministry of Environment say an inversion has trapped the smoke in the valley, causing a thick haze. An inversion is caused when a layer of warm air overlays a layer of cooler air, trapping smoke and dust in the airshed.

The Ministry of Environment say the smoke haze in the Lakes District area is not attributed to wildfires currently burning in Colorado.

鈥淯sually we would not see smoke from this far away,鈥� Saklyama said.

An air quality advisory has now been issued for the area, as readings of PM 2.5 have been recorded, which exceeds air quality guidelines.