New York City’s Air Quality Plummets Due to Canadian Forest Fires

Jakarta –

New York City in the United States has recently been in the spotlight because of the appearance of the sky turning orange. The change in the color of the sky in New York occurs due to pollution from the forest fires that occurred in Canada.

The incident made New York’s air quality the worst in history. On Wednesday (7/6/2023) in the morning, air quality in New York became the 2nd worst in the world after Delhi India with an air quality index (AQI) of 160 which is in the ‘unhealthy’ category.

Even at 4 pm, the AQI score in New York on the same day experienced a drastic increase until it reached 413. This figure was already in the ‘dangerous’ category. This number is much higher than New York’s AQI in previous days which was at 50 or included in the ‘good’ category.

Ketar-ketir Environmental Scientist

From the results of the analysis carried out, the smoke billowing from the forest fires in Canada flew south, causing people to experience the worst pollution exposure since 2006.

“Worst by far, I mean, gosh, that’s bad,” said Stanford University environmental scientist Marshall Burke as quoted by The Guardian, Friday (9/6/2023).

“Unbelievable to be honest, we had to check it four times to see if it was true. We have never seen anything like this, or even close to this, on the east coast before. This is a historic event.”

Burke added that exposure to dust and other burning debris or PM2.5 can be inhaled into the lungs and cause various health conditions.

This incident also made many schools and playgrounds close outdoor activities and people have also started wearing masks.

“The levels are quite dangerous, especially if you are in a vulnerable group. I would expect there to be an increase in hospitalizations for respiratory problems, premature births and deaths,” Burke said.

(avk/vyp)