Environment Canada is extending a fog advisory warning of near-zero visibility in some areas until Thursday afternoon.

Environment Canada says that a ridge of high pressure is trapping moisture at the surface, causing the fog which has been lingering in the region for a few days now.

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However, the agency is saying that the fog will weaken starting at the end of the week because rain is forecasted.

“It’s a temperature inversion,” 1130 NewsRadio meteorologist Michael Kuss explained.

“For example, the last couple of days it has been 10°C to 12° at 1,000 meters, but 3°C to 4°C at sea level, so that cold air gets trapped in. Normally, it is allowed to escape with some mixing and some wind, but that is not the case.”

One Vancouver resident says that he would like to go to the top of the mountains to see the city from a bird’s-eye perspective.

“If I could, I would get above it because I think it is beautiful up in the mountains, but unfortunately, work is down here under the fog, so here we are.”
The fog is causing cancellations and delays at Vancouver International Airport.

It is also making the coast a little louder than usual the vessels use the foghorn.

“Usually, the foghorns are coming from the ships that are moving around the coast. It is the ships that are underway that are sounding one prolonged blast not more than every two minutes,” said Steve Kennedy, president at B.C. coast pilots.

The group that directs and navigates foreign ships along B.C.’s coast says that while there is technology that allows ships to detect each other, foghorns are a last safety resort.

“So, if you don’t, for whatever reason, identify another ship around you, then you’ll certainly hear it,” Kennedy added.

The fog has usually been clearing up throughout the day before redeveloping each night.

It might take a few more days before it completely dissipates.

January is unusually dry

“The pattern is so stagnant that it would not be surprising if we didn’t see much of a change even over the next four or five days. That gets us to 10 days where we have not seen much change in the weather at all,” Kuss said.

Additionally, Environment Canada warns of slippery conditions in low-lying areas as fog patches and icy temperatures may create black ice.

The agency recommends that drivers be careful on the roads.

The fog is adding to a month that has already been seeing unseasonably dry and warm weather in Vancouver.

One resident says it is better than what the rest of the country is experiencing at the moment.

“Tip to Vancouver, you should be blessed because across Canada is frozen, snowed in.”

With files from Jan Schuermann.