New York City shrouded in apocalyptic haze from Canadian wildfires, posing health hazard

Reality overtook fiction in New York on Wednesday morning. The Statue of Liberty and the skyscrapers of Manhattan were shrouded in a maroon-orange fog, transforming the city into apocalyptic landscapes straight from the sci-fi movie “Blader Ranner 2049” (2017).

Since Tuesday, thick clouds of smoke from ongoing fires in Canada have covered New York City, like some Canadian cities, including Ottawa and Montreal.

Visibility was so difficult in the area that the United States Civil Aviation Agency (FAA) slowed air transport and even grounded some planes.

A health hazard

Air pollution that reached its peak on Wednesday: New York air quality having reached the level “very unhealthy” according to the IQair air quality index.

The US government has also called on its fellow citizens whose health is fragile to ” take precautions “ in the face of deteriorating air quality.