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 all, some 100 million Americans were affected by air quality alerts on Wednesday, the Environmental Protection Agency said.
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.
100 million affected by air quality alerts
According to EPA spokesperson Shayla R. Powell, the EPA estimates that “more than 100 million people are affected by air quality alerts today, ranging from Code Orange (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups) and above. This area includes much of the Northeast U.S. – extending to Chicago to the west and Atlanta to the south.
“We expect that air quality in this area is predominantly impacted by the Canadian wildfires, although more localized pollution emissions and meteorology may also play a factor,” Powell said.
Smoke causes air travel problems in NYC
The Federal Aviation Administration halted all inbound flights to New York’s LaGuardia airport Wednesday afternoon due to the wildfire smoke.
Meanwhile, at Newark’s Liberty Airport, the airport reported that low visibility was leading to a ground stop for some arriving flights.
The FAA also said the extreme wildfire smoke haze lingering over the Northeast U.S. due to Canadian wildfires could delay flights through Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C., CNN reported.
Wildfire, smoke map for US, Canada
Brown haze descends on New York City
Hazy skies blanketed New York on Wednesday 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.
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.
‘Impossible … to escape it’ for people experiencing homelessness
As much of the Northeast is blanketed in a haze of smoke drifting down from hundreds of Canadian wildfires, people are being told to stay inside as much as possible on Wednesday.
That’s not so easy for people experiencing homelessness, advocates say.
“For our neighbors living outside, it’s impossible for them to escape it,” said Jesse Rabinowitz, senior manager for policy and advocacy at the nonprofit Miriam’s Kitchen in the nation’s capital.
Some of the cities most impacted by unhealthy air quality from the fires also see some of the highest rates of homelessness in the country.
Parts of New York City and Washington, D.C., hovered between a red and purple air quality designation during the day, according to airnow.gov. That means the air is unhealthy for the general population, and people are recommended to reduce physical activity and consider going indoors. School children were kept inside for recess. Anyone with additional health risks should move all their activities indoors, officials said.
“There are hundreds of our neighbors who don’t have a choice but to stay outside, which must compel us to end homelessness and ensure that everyone has the housing that they need to thrive,” Rabinowitz said.
‘I can taste the air’
Folks across the eastern U.S. and in Canada were coping as best as possible with the smoke-filled air. “I can taste the air,” Dr. Ken Strumpf said in a Facebook post from Syracuse, New York, which was enveloped in an amber pall. The smoke, he later said by phone, even made him a bit dizzy.
In Baltimore, where officials warned residents to stay indoors when possible, Debbie Funk sported a blue surgical mask as she and husband, Jack Hughes, took their daily walk. “I walked outside this morning and it was like a waft of smoke,” said Funk, who said the couple had considered skipping the walk but wanted some exercise.
In Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Zachary Kamel said, “the smoke was insane yesterday. I had to close my window because the fresh air just smelled like campfire.”
US air quality index map
More:Photos show eerie hazy skylines, glowing sunrises across US from Canada wildfires
Contributing: Anna Kaufman, Adrianna Rodriguez, Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY; the Associated Press