Smoke from Canadian Wildfires Causes Air Pollution Crisis in New York City

EDUARDO MUNOZ ALVAREZ / Getty Images via AFP NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 7: The tramway to Roosevelt Island crosses the East River as smoke from Canadian wildfires casts a haze over the area on June 7, 2023 in New York City. Air pollution alerts were issued across the United States due to smoke from wildfires that have been burning in Canada for weeks. Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by EDUARDO MUNOZ ALVAREZ / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

EDUARDO MUNOZ ALVAREZ / Getty Images via AFP

In New York, smoke makes the air “harmful”, return of masks and canceled school trips (Photo of New York taken on June 7, 2023)

UNITED STATES – Like an air of Blade Runner 2049. The Statue of Liberty and the skyscrapers of Manhattan enveloped in an orange and brown fog: the forest fires in Quebec obscure this Wednesday, June 7 the famous « skyline » of New York and make the air very difficult to breathe for its 8.5 million inhabitants.

Covid masks are reappearing on the streets of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, like Hugh Hill walking his dog in Central Park, the gigantic green lung of the economic and cultural capital of the United States.

Authorities in New York, Toronto and Ottawa warned residents about the health risks from air polluted by smoke due to unprecedented early summer wildfires in eastern Canada 1/5

— Reuters (@Reuters)

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Since the start of the week, authorities in the city and state of New York have multiplied alert messages and started distributing masks.

Smoke and haze from the wildfires ravaging swaths of Canadian forest have reached the eastern United States.

The D.C. area has Code Red air quality for the first time since 2011 that wasn’t related to the Fourth of July and New York City officials warn ‘unprecedented’ smoke…

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost)

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« Smoke and haze from wildfires ravaging swathes of Canada’s forests have reached the eastern United States. The DC area has Code Red air quality for the first time since 2011 that was unrelated to the 4th of July and New York City officials warn the smoke “unprecedented” could persist for several days. »

“One of the worst” air quality ” in the world “

“I am saddened today to see that New York City, which usually enjoys good air quality, has one of the worst in the world because of these wildfires” in Canada, New York Senator Chuck Schumer was alarmed, speaking on Wednesday from the Senate in Washington, where he leads the Democratic majority. The situation is even worse in the large, green, upscale suburbs north of New York along the Hudson River, where the sky turns yellow-orange-gray and the air scrapes your throat.

New York City has the worst air quality of any major city in the world right now, according to a live ranking by IQAir, a technology company that tracks air quality and pollution around the world.

Follow the latest updates on the wildfire smoke here.

— The New York Times (@nytimes)

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« New York City currently has the worst air quality of any major city in the world, according to a live ranking from IQAir, a tech company that tracks air quality and pollution around the world. »

According to IQAir.com, which monitors pollution levels across the planet, the index for New York reached Wednesday morning « 158 » on a scale of zero to 500, with a concentration of PM2.5 microparticles at a level 14 times higher than World Health Organization standards.

But according to the New York Timesearly Wednesday afternoon, New York City reported an index of 235. This before the index finally reached a maddening level at the end of the day: according to the government site airnow.gov, the index for New York’s air quality reached a record high of 413 on a scale of zero to 500, a record for more than two decades.

According to New York State Governor Kathy Hochul, the air quality index rose Wednesday from “harmful to” very harmful “and all school and extracurricular outdoor activities have been suspended or limited” strictly necessary.

Flights disrupted due to smoke

Smoke from the fires is also beginning to affect flights in the New York area. This Wednesday at noon, the Federal Aviation Administration halted some flights to La Guardia Airport and delays have been piling up at Newark Liberty International Airport.

9:45 AM at NWS Binghamton. Sun is no longer visible, everything’s orange, the parking lot lights have come on, and we’re stuck at 50°F.

— NWS Binghamton (@NWSBinghamton)

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« The sun is no longer visible, everything is orange, the lights in the parking lot have come on and we are stuck at 50°F. »

“The FAA has taken steps to manage traffic flow in the New York area due to reduced visibility of wildfire smoke”the agency said in a statement, quoted by The New York Times, noting that smoke can affect visibility in the same way as low cloud or fog.

No running for World Running Day

New York’s most famous landmarks — Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, One World Trade Center Tower — no longer stand out as usual under clear blue skies. “Yesterday, when I came home from my classes, I was breathing in smoke”testifies to AFP Evangelia Antonakos, a 47-year-old mathematics teacher, accompanied by her 5-year-old child also wearing a mask.

“It’s not the day to train for the marathon”, warned, with his sense of understatement, the mayor of the city Eric Adams. Which is enough to disappoint runners since this Wednesday is World Running Day. Given the situation, the New York Road Runners have canceled all their events related to this day.

“If you are in New York City or an affected area, please read and follow your city’s air quality health advisory for June 7, and consider running another day. »it was announced.

Trying to protect animals

And it doesn’t just affect humans. Animals also feel the effects of smoke. While advice is being issued to protect pets (including avoiding letting them out for too long), the city’s carriage horses also had to stop working on Wednesday.

Live view of Midtown Manhattan via @EarthCam as dense wildfire smoke settles in over NYC once again. An absolutely surreal scene.

— New York Metro Weather (@nymetrowx)

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« Live view of Midtown Manhattan as dense smoke from wildfires once again settles over New York City. An absolutely surreal scene. »

The New York City Department of Health announced in the afternoon a “suspension of work” for all work horses, note the New York Times. « The Department of Health is monitoring the situation and will advise the carriage horse industry when services can continue”said ministry spokeswoman Shari Logan.

Risks for vulnerable people

Further south, the federal capital Washington also woke up on Wednesday to a pungent smell and cloudy skies despite sunny weather. “Today’s air quality will be harmful to the health of people with heart or respiratory disease, the elderly, children and adolescents”according to local authorities.

As in New York and the state of Maryland, public schools have canceled outdoor activities for children, including sports and outdoor recess. Some lessons were canceled at the end of the day so that the children could go home earlier.

The air quality index in Washington was 199 Wednesday morning, a level considered ” harmful “ and which should continue on Thursday. And according to the fire.airnow.gov site, tens of millions of inhabitants of the northeastern and eastern United States (New York, Washington, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, etc.) are subject to this week to very poor air quality.

Conditions in New York are expected to continue Thursday and Friday and potentially extend into the weekend, according to Basil Seggos, commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, quoted by the New York Times. « Ultimately this is going to continue for the next few days and probably into the weekend.”, he told reporters on Wednesday afternoon. “ We will pray for rain in the north and for the winds to change. »