The air in New York City was heavily polluted on Wednesday, ranking among the most polluted cities globally. The thick smoke from extensive wildfires in Canada, and over 150 forest fires in Quebec alone, had drifted south due to prevailing wind patterns, resulting in an ominous orange haze enveloping the city for the second consecutive day. As a result, an Air Quality Health Advisory was issued for all five boroughs until Thursday morning. The situation was expected to persist until Sunday, with Mayor Eric Adams advising individuals with respiratory or heart problems to limit outdoor activities to only essential tasks.
According to the pollution monitoring website IQair, only New Delhi, India, and Dhaka, Bangladesh, had worse air quality than New York City. The adverse weather conditions were forecasted to continue until Sunday night when a new storm system from the west would approach and help disperse the smoke by altering wind directions. Despite a slight improvement in air quality on Wednesday morning, with the air quality index dropping from 164 to 158, officials cautioned that factors such as wind speed and direction could cause the smog to worsen later in the day.
While New York City faced significant pollution levels, Pennsylvania and Delaware were reported to be experiencing the worst conditions, according to meteorologist Stephen McCloud. The Environmental Protection Agency’s air quality index had reached a “very unhealthy” level in parts of the city by Tuesday evening, making New York City the most polluted major city globally.
In response to the situation, New York State recommended residents, particularly those sensitive to air quality or prone to allergies and asthma, limit strenuous outdoor physical activity to minimize health risks. The state emphasized the importance of considering individual health conditions and reducing exposure to polluted air.