Smoke from wildfires in Canada has drifted down into the U.S., leading to extremely poor air quality across much of the eastern U.S., with alerts in effect all the way from New England to the Southeast.
In fact, New York City’s air quality was the worst in the world for a time Tuesday morning, according to IQAir, an air quality monitoring website. As of Wednesday afternoon, IQAir said New York City’s pollution was fourth-worst in the world, behind New Delhi, India; Dhaka, Bangladesh; and Toronto.
The poor air quality was even making it as far south as Atlanta, where the National Weather Service said “particularly sensitive groups may be affected in north Georgia.”
Sara Adar, from the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health, said “as many people in the Midwest and East Coast are learning right now, wildfire smoke can travel very far distances and impact large populations. To best protect health, people should avoid spending too much time outdoors right now, especially young children, the elderly, pregnant women and those with heart or lung disease,” she said.
What are air quality alerts?
Air quality alerts are indicators the air is unsafe to breathe for certain people. Alerts are triggered by a number of factors, including the detection of fine-particle pollution — known as “PM 2.5” — which can irritate the lungs.
Pollution is detected by a system of monitors on the ground “constantly taking measurements of the amount of chemicals and particles in the air,” said Susan Anenberg, professor and department chair of environmental and occupational health at George Washington University.
Wildfire, smoke map for US, Canada
Brown haze descends on New York City
Hazy skies blanketed New York on Tuesday afternoon as smoke permeated the city’s air. For some New Yorkers, the poor air quality meant the return of masks and a flashback to the pandemic era.
From Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood, where the Manhattan skyline is usually easily seen, the towers were barely visible through the brown haze. It seemed more like a foggy morning than an early June afternoon.
Mikael Haxby, 43, was walking his dog toward the waterfront, a medical facemask strapped tight over his mouth and nose. He said he had a burning feeling in his throat. “I’m somewhat used to wearing the mask,” he said. “It’s more just like the air quality is bad.” He said his child would have recess inside Wednesday, as all city schools had announced.
Plenty of others went maskless, however, and some were donning the “chin strap” former Gov. Andrew Cuomo once chided during his daily press conference days.
Amid the haze, public gathering spots sat mostly empty. A popular outdoor brunch restaurant, usually bustling even on a weekday, looked deserted. McCarren Park, home to the neighborhood track, had only a few joggers.
“I was actually coughing,” Deborah Gross, 29, said, from behind her white N-95 mask. She was late to meet a friend because she had to stop into a drug store to buy a mask, a move that reminded her of riding out the pandemic in the city. “I saw people wearing masks on the street,” she said, “and I was like, ‘Whoa, throwback.’”
How long will the poor air quality last?
The weather service said the wind trajectory that allowed smoke and hazy conditions to be seen in the New York City area could continue for the next few days.
The smoky air will then work its way west over the next couple of days, AccuWeather said.
“On Thursday and Friday, the worst smoke and related air quality is expected to shift west across the Great Lakes and parts of Ohio Valley and interior Northeast including the cities of Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and Detroit,” said AccuWeather director of forecasting operations Dan DePodwin.
US air quality index map
More:Photos show eerie hazy skylines, glowing sunrises across US from Canada wildfires
Contributing: Anna Kaufman, Adrianna Rodriguez, USA TODAY
