New York City and much of the Northeast were breathing “unhealthy” air Tuesday as the region was blanketed in smoke from Canadian wildfires.
As a red sun rose over the boroughs and covered the city in an orange haze, officials advised New Yorkers to limit strenuous outdoor activity and urged groups who have trouble breathing to stay indoors.
The smoky conditions were expected to become worse as Tuesday afternoon went on and to continue Wednesday as wind patterns blew smoke from wildfires in Quebec downstream.
By 10 p.m. Tuesday, air quality in parts of the Big Apple reached a “very unhealthy” level, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s index.
All five boroughs were placed under an Air Quality Health Advisory until Wednesday night.
The city also canceled all outdoor activities at public schools for Wednesday as the air quality is expected to worsen throughout the day.
“While conditions are anticipated to temporarily improve later tonight through tomorrow morning, they are expected to deteriorate further tomorrow afternoon and evening,” Mayor Eric Adams said in a Tuesday night statement.
“We have a low-pressure system off the coast that’s pulling in the smoke down across our area, so that’s why we see the smoke coming in,” Fox Weather meteorologist Samantha Thomas explained.
Everything you need to know about the NYC wildfire smoke
New York City’s air has been heavily polluted by thick smoke from Canadian wildfires burning hundreds of miles away.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams warned residents to stay inside to avoid exposure.
The haze wafting in from Quebec poses a threat “even to healthy adults.”
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New York’s air quality has become some of the worst in the world as the ominous orange smog from wildfires near Quebec, British Columbia and Nova Scotia continues to settle over the region, according to IQair.
The air quality is expected to remain hazardous through the weekend.
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More than 400 wildfires were blazing across Canada on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.
The blazes were being exacerbated by “extremely dry” conditions and warm temperatures, and smoke and haze from fires as far away as British Columbia and Nova Scotia had been blown into the city in recent weeks.
Fires in the country had charred a combined area that is larger than Maryland and displaced tens of thousands of people, officials said.
“Unfortunately, much of Canada is burning,” Thomas said. “This is definitely the worst we’ve had come in.”
A code red warning was in effect in parts of upstate New York near Canada, meaning even people without health conditions are in danger from the smoke.
Thomas advised New Yorkers to “limit your time outside” and said advisory warnings could continue Wednesday, when the city was expected to see another push of thicker smoke in the late morning and into the afternoon.
Visibility in the boroughs was down to four miles Tuesday, less than half the city’s average, forecasters said.
The hazy situation had not affected air traffic at the city’s three major airports, according to the Federal Aviation Administration and Port Authority’s websites.
