New York City tops world’s worst air pollution list from Canada wildfire smoke

New
York
City’s
air
pollution
ranked
the
worst
of
any
city
in
the
world
on
Wednesday
as
wildfire
smoke
from
Canada
continued
to
drift
over
the
area,
creating
a
second
day
of
orange
haze
over
the
city
and
prompting
some
residents
to
wear
face
masks
outdoors.

As
of
Wednesday
afternoon,
the
city

reached
an
AQI
of
342,
a
level
considered
“hazardous”
for
all
residents.
The
city’s
schools
are
open
but
are
not
having
outdoor
activities
as
the
air
quality
is
expected
to
deteriorate
throughout
the
day.

The
Federal
Aviation
Administration

on
Wednesday
halted
some
flights
bound
for
New
York’s
LaGuardia
Airport
due
to
the
smoke.
Visibility
was
also
causing
delays
at
Newark
Liberty
International
Airport.

New
York
Gov.
Kathy
Hochul
said
the
poor
air
quality
is
“an
emergency
crisis”
and
warned
it
could
last
for
the
next
few
days.
“If
you
can
stay
indoors,
stay
indoors.
This
is
detrimental
to
people’s
health,”
Hochul
told
reporters
on
Wednesday.

The
MLB
said
in
a
statement
that
Wednesday’s
games
between
the
Detroit
Tigers
and
the
Philadelphia
Phillies
at
Citizens
Bank
Park
and
the
Chicago
White
Sox
and
the
New
York
Yankees
at
Yankee
Stadium
had
both
been
postponed.

“These
postponements
were
determined
following
conversations
throughout
the
day
with
medical
and
weather
experts
and
all
of
the
impacted
Clubs
regarding
clearly
hazardous
air
quality
conditions
in
both
cities,”
the
league
said.

The
official
Twitter
account
of
the
popular
musical
production
“Hamilton”
tweeted
that
“the
hazardous
air
quality
in
New
York
City
has
made
it
impossible
for
a
number
of
our
artists
to
perform
this
evening”
but
added
that
the
show
plans
to
resume
Thursday.

City
officials
have
advised
residents
to
limit
outdoor
activity
Wednesday
and
warned
that
children,
older
adults
and
people
with
preexisting
respiratory
problems
are
especially
vulnerable.

Wildfire
smoke
releases
fine
particulate
matter,
called
PM2.5,
which
enters
the
lungs
and
causes
health
issues
such
as
asthma
and
bronchitis.
PM2.5
concentration in
New
York
City
is
currently
15
times
the
World
Health
Organization’s
annual
air
quality
guideline
value.

The
New
York
State
Department
of
Environmental
Conservation
has
issued
an
Air
Quality
Health
Advisory
for
all
five
boroughs.
City
officials
have
said
they
expect
the
advisory
to
remain
in
place
for
the
next
few
days
but
added
it’s
particularly
difficult
to
forecast
smoke
conditions.

New
York
also
extended
its air
quality
health
advisory to
Thursday.

Mayor
Eric
Adams
in
a
press
briefing
Wednesday
urged
vulnerable
residents
to
remain
indoors
and
said
dangerous
air
quality
conditions
are
forecast
to
temporarily
improve
later
tonight
through
Thursday
morning
but
continue
to
deteriorate
Thursday
afternoon
and
evening.

“This
may
be
the
first
time
we’ve
experienced
something
like
this
of
this
magnitude,”
Adams
said.
“Climate
change
is
accelerating
these
conditions.
We
must
continue
to
draw
down
emissions
and
improve
air
quality
and
build
resiliency.”

Canada
is
on
track
to
experience
its
worst-ever
wildfire
season,
with
more
than
400
active
wildfires
currently
burning
across
nearly
all
Canadian
provinces
and
territories.
Federal
officials
said
last
week
that
wildfires
have
burned
more
than
6.7
million
acres
and
about
26,000
people
are
under
evacuation
orders.

The
smoke
from
Canada’s
wildfires
has
drifted
south
and
prompted
air
pollution
warnings
across
the
country.

Millions
of
people
in
the
Midwest
are
experiencing
dangerous
air
quality
conditions,
with
air
quality
advisories
in
effect
in
southeastern
Minnesota,
parts
of
the
Upper
Peninsula
of
Michigan
and
areas
in
Wisconsin.
Air
quality
alerts
have
also
been
posted
across
most
of
New
England.

The
National
Weather
Service
in
a
forecast
said
the
smoke
was
expected
to
linger
through
Wednesday
and
continue
to
travel
further
west.

Climate
change
is
increasing
the
frequency
and
intensity
of
global
wildfires
and
air
pollution
from
wildfire
smoke
is
also
growing
worse.
Last
year,
Stanford
researchers found millions
of
Americans
are
routinely
exposed
to
wildfire
smoke
pollution
at
levels
rarely
seen
only
a
decade
ago.