This is one Canadian export not going well for the United States. .New York City’s air was more polluted than any other major world city as smoke from wildfires burning hundreds of kilometres away in Canada choke most of the northeastern United States. .“We’ll be in this same kind of weather pattern through today and tomorrow as well,” Fox Weather meteorologist Stephen McCloud told the New York Post on Wednesday. .“By Sunday night, we should start to see improvement as a new storm system from the west approaches and starts to move this storm system out.”.An ominous orange haze crept over New York City for a second day as all five boroughs were placed under an air quality alert until Thursday morning due to wind patterns pushing smoke south from more than 150 forest fires in Quebec — 110 of which have been deemed out of control. .Unhealthy air and smoke conditions are expected to linger over the five boroughs until Sunday. New York City Mayor Eric Adams urged New Yorkers with heart or breathing conditions to “limit outdoor activities to the absolute necessities.” .As a dim orange haze settled over the boroughs, IQair said the city had surpassed the pollution levels of New Delhi and has air quality described as hazardous. . Wildfire smoke 2Update from New York City .IQair’s Air Quality Index reached 342 on Wednesday — measured on a scale of 0 to 500, with higher numbers indicating a worse score. This score was worse than New Delhi’s 190 and surpassed the normal average of 100. .Forecasters said the air has been the worst since the 1980s, surpassing the poorness from 9/11. .McCloud said New York City will be in this weather pattern for the next few days. By Sunday night, he said people should start to see improvement because a new storm system from the west will approach. . Wildfire smoke 3New York City’s air was more polluted than most of the world’s major cities as thick smoke from Canadian wildfires burning hundreds of miles away is set to continue through the weekend. .Once the storm system from the west starts to come in, it is going to change the wind direction. Once the wind direction changes, the smoke will be unable to come down into parts of the northeast and mid-Atlantic. .IQair said New York City’s air quality score saw an incremental improvement on Wednesday morning — dropping from 164 to 158 — before getting worse when a new wave of smoke hit the city in the afternoon. .It was on par with Toronto, which suffered from a haze of southern-drifting wildfire smoke. .Officials warned factors such as wind speed and direction could cause the smog to thicken later in the day. .“While conditions are anticipated to temporarily improve later tonight through tomorrow morning, they are expected to deteriorate further tomorrow afternoon and evening,” said Adams. .The most recent wildfires near Quebec have been burning for several days — the most intense of which has caused evacuation orders to be issued. .These fires have been worsened by dry conditions and warm temperatures. .Smoke and haze from those as far as British Columbia and Nova Scotia have moved downstream into the city since late May, but the recent influx from Quebec was far more severe than in previous weeks. .Officials said fires have charred a combined area larger than Maryland and displaced tens of thousands of people. .Environment Canada’s Air Quality Health Index put Ottawa in category 10+, which is the worst level and indicates a high risk. . Wildfire smoke 4A satellite view shows Canadian wildfire smoke in New York and Pennsylvania at 2:30 pm June 7, 2023. .A code red warning was in effect in parts of upstate New York near Canada, which means people without health conditions might be at risk from the smoke. .The New York government recommended residents consider limiting strenuous outdoor physical activity to reduce the risk of adverse health events. .McCloud concluded by saying people should “limit your time outside so that you’re not breathing in all this smoke.”.“I mean, it’s not going to be fatal, but it is something that could possibly make you sick,” he said. .The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Wednesday flights bound for LaGuardia Airport in New York City were halted due to wildfire smoke. .The FAA issued the ground stop at LaGuardia due to reduced visibility as a thick haze from wildfires raging near Quebec choked New York City for the second day in a row. .Takeoffs at the airport were delayed by an average of 30 minutes, as landings were paused.
