Timeline: When will the smoke from the Canadian wildfires clear?
When will the air quality improve in NYC? Latest weather forecast
FOX 5 NY's Mike Woods has a look at when air quality conditions could improve in New York City.
NEW YORK - Most of the northeastern U.S. is under an Air Quality Alert this week, as smoke from Canadian wildfires continues to move south.
New York is expected to see the worst of the smoke on Thursday, but when could it clear out? Will it be gone in time for Sunday's FIFA World Cup final between Argentina and Spain?
NYC wildfire smoke timeline
What we know:
As of Thursday afternoon, the air quality around the city is "actually getting a little better, but still not great," according to FOX 5 NY meteorologist Mike Woods.
The smoke will continue to thin out throughout Thursday and into Friday morning, Woods said.
"Then, things should start to clear out to some degree," he said, though it will not be completely clear.
Rain is expected to come into the area starting around midday Saturday, with storms possible Saturday night into Sunday.
The FIFA World Cup Final kicks off at 3 p.m. on Sunday from New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford. By then, the weather should dry out, according to Woods, and "things should be in pretty good shape."
Federal officials say that rains on Saturday should bring "major improvement" to the air quality.
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While it may be clearer come the weekend, the International WELL Building Institute forecasts the Air Quality Index to stay in the moderate range through early afternoon on Sunday.
Air Quality Alert
Why you should care:
The National Weather Service has an active Air Quality Alert in effect for much of the region, including the entire states of New York and Connecticut, and most of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Those alerts will be active until midnight Thursday night.
As of Thursday afternoon, the Air Quality Index in the city is hovering between yellow and orange alert levels, meaning that sensitive groups, people who have breathing issues, are at higher risk.
Air quality map
To view the full map, click here
To view a map of smoke coverage, click here.
The Source: Information in this story is from the National Weather Service, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, AirNow.gov, the U.S. Interagency Wildland Fire Air Quality Response Program and previous FOX 5 NY reports.