Air quality NYC alert: New York air ‘worst in the world’ as Canadian wildfires smoke fills skies

May 04, 2023

At least 10 central New York school districts cancel outdoor activities amid worsening air

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Orange smog envelops Ottawa as Canada wildfires continue to fill skies

New York has topped the list of the world's most polluted cities as smoke from over a 100 wildfires raging in Canada continue to fill skies in the northeast and mid-Atlantic regions and turns the moon red.

New York's Air Quality Index passed 200, which is deemed "very unhealthy".

At 10pm ET, the city briefly had the worst air quality among major metropolitan areas worldwide, and currently surpasses Doha and Baghdad while trailing behind Delhi and Lahore.

Worsening air quality has prompted health alerts in New York and Quebec with officials warning people about the impact of fine particles known as PM2.5, which can lead to respiratory illnesses.

At least 10 school districts in central New York cancelled outdoor activities, including recess and gym classes.

The moon turned red for residents in the northeastern US, an occurrence directly linked to smoke drifting down from the Canadian wildfires as it appears behind grey, hazy skies.

Canada is currently facing one of its worst wildfire seasons on record, with over 6.7 million acres already scorched since this year's start.

Canadian province of Quebec, which is battling over 160 wildfires, is looking internationally for support to deal with what federal officials say is shaping up to be among the country's worst fire seasons ever.

With more than 480 wilderness firefighters on the ground, Quebec can fight around 30 fires, François Legault told reporters, adding that normally firefighters would come from other provinces to help.

"When I talk to the premiers of other provinces, they have their hands full," Legault told a briefing in Quebec City.

Read more:

The premier of Canada's French-speaking province of Quebec says he is looking internationally for support as it struggles to battle more than 160 forest fires and federal officials warned Canada is track for its worst fire season ever

An air quality advisory is in effect for several regions of New York state currently.

Yesterday the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a poor air quality alert for New England, a day after parts of Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota received a similar advisory.

Last week, US officials as far south as Maryland, Baltimore, Virginia and Pennsylvania reported being impacted by the wildfires.

Here's a summary of what's being evaluated and some suggested precautions:

Canada is dealing with a series of intense wildfires that have spread from the western provinces to Quebec, with hundreds of forest fires burning

New York's air quality is expected to get better briefly this morning as smoke clears for a while. The city, however, will once again be engulfed in smoke as the day progresses.

There is no end in sight yet for the raging wildfires in Quebec that have contributed to the polluted air in New York as officials continue to struggle with controlling hundreds of blazes. More smoke is expected to come today and tomorrow out of Canada as a north-to-south-moving cold front comes.

New York state, Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic are expected to see air quality plummet further.

However, as the weekend approaches, the wind is expected to flow northwesterly, clear away the skies a little and bring increased visibility. But as long as the fires continue to rage, the impact may be felt across the region depending on weather systems.

The New York Road Runners, organisers of the renowned New York City Marathon, have issued a cautionary message to runners residing in smoke-affected areas, urging them to not participate in marathon today on global running day.

In a tweet, the organisation urged members to adhere to health advisories and refrain from running.

Research indicates that wildfire smoke may pose greater lung toxicity than urban air pollution. Strenuous exercise during the marathon coupled with inhaling compromised air quality could aggravate respiratory symptoms, especially for those with pre-existing conditions like asthma.

Officials in New York are asking senior citizens and those with pre-exisiting conditions to wear a mask as air quality continues to remain in the "unhealthy" range in the city.

"If you are an older adult or have heart or breathing problems and need to be outside, wear a high-quality mask (e.g. N95 or KN95)," the office of mayor Eric Adams said in a statement last night. The city also urged New Yorkers to stay indoors when possible.

"Currently, we are taking precautions out of an abundance of caution to protect New Yorkers’ health until we are able to get a better sense of future air quality reports," Mr Adams' office said.

Currently, New York is the most polluted major city, surpassing Delhi, as thick smoke from raging wildfires in Canada engulfs the Northeastern United States.

This is the first time in recent years that New Yorkers have been asked to mask up.

Footage captures an eerie haze over Yankee Stadium in New York, as smoke from Canadian wildfires set off health alerts in the city.

Authorities in New York, Toronto and Ottawa warned residents about the health risks from air polluted by smoke from early summer wildfires in eastern Canada.

Footage captures an eerie haze over Yankee Stadium in New York, as smoke from Canadian wildfires set off health alerts in the city. Authorities in New York, Toronto and Ottawa on Tuesday 6 June warned residents about the health risks from air polluted by smoke from early summer wildfires in eastern Canada. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation issued a health advisory for counties including New York, Bronx, and Queens. It recommended residents consider limiting strenuous outdoor physical activity to reduce the risk of adverse health effects. Footage from Tuesday night shows the Yankees and the Chicago White Sox baseball teams facing off in New York amid the haze.

Satellite images captured the vast scale of smoke covering the skies over the northeastern US and Canada from over a hundred wildfires raging in Quebec.

A time lapse video released by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration showed gray hazy smoke appearing alongside white clouds.

A video from the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere showed a "horribly smoky day in the Eastern US".

New York is once again the most polluted major city in the world right now, according to live rankings by IQAir, an air quality monitoring technology company.

NYC, which held the top spot briefly yesterday as well, surpassed Delhi as smoke continued to fill the skies of the Northeastern United States and air quality plummeted further after sunset.

The AQI for NYC stands at 174, which is considered "unhealthy".

IQAir shows New York topping the list of world's most polluted major cities

Air quality in New York City yesterday evening plummeted to unhealthy levels.

The NYC metro weather service said the near surface smoke density from wildfires in Quebec was set to "peak" around sunset across the NYC Metro.

Residents reported reduced visibility as smoke continues to engulf the city.

Residents in northeastern US witnessed the moon turning red, an occurrence directly linked to smoke drifting down from the Canadian wildfires as it appears behind grey, hazy skies.

Today morning, early risers in the US saw the unusual colour on the moon. The odd red colour is something that has been noticed for a few days now in some parts as air quality continues to worsen.

Here's how this phenomenon works:

When the air is heavily polluted, it contains an increased concentration of fine particulate matter like smoke, dust and pollutants. These particles have the ability to scatter light in different ways, depending on their size and composition. In particular, smaller particles tend to scatter shorter wavelengths of light, such as blue and green, more effectively than longer wavelengths like red.

As a result, when sunlight or moonlight passes through a polluted atmosphere, the shorter wavelengths of light are scattered away, while longer wavelengths like red and orange are less affected and can reach the observer's eyes.

The sun over New York City takes on a red appearance on a hazy morning resulting from Canadian wildfires

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Buildings in Jersey City, NJ are partially obscured by smoke from Canadian wildfires as a ferry travels up the Hudson River, seen from the Manhattan borough of New York

Patrick Sison

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