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NEW YORK CITY - Heavy smoke from Canadian wildfires blanketed parts of the United States on Thursday, stretching from the Great Lakes to portions of the East Coast, reducing visibility, disrupting commutes and prompting air quality alerts warning that outdoor activities could be hazardous.
What you can do:
Take a look at the map below to see where wildfire smoke is heaviest and air quality conditions are at their worst.
Why is the air quality so bad today?
The backstory:
A massive outbreak of Canadian wildfires is sending plumes of smoke all the way down to the New York City region, impacting air quality, according to the NWS.
Air Quality Alerts (FOX Weather)
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said public schools, parks and other city agencies were adjusting programming, moving activities indoors, rescheduling events and adjusting operations as air quality was expected to worsen as the day progressed.
Current air quality NYC: Map
Local perspective:
This map from AirNow.gov shows the current air quality in the New York City area. Click here if you're having trouble viewing the embedded map.
What air quality is dangerous?
By the numbers:
The numbers show how clean or polluted the air is and stand as a guideline for outdoor activities that day, especially for sensitive groups.
- 0-50: Good, with little to no risk of pollution.
- 51-100: Moderate and really is not a risk to anyone unless they're unusually sensitive to poor air quality. The national weather service will often still issue an air quality alert when we're in this range.
- 101-150: This is a risk for sensitive groups and people with asthma.
- 151-200: A risk for everyone and people who are sensitive are at risk for more severe complications.
- 201-300: Very unhealthy and a risk for everyone.
- 301+: Emergency conditions.
2023: Canadian wildfire smoke pours into Northeast
The backstory:
In June 2023, winds blew smoke from unchecked Canadian wildfires into the region, which led the Department of Environmental Conservation to issue an Air Quality Health Advisory for all five boroughs.
According to IQAir.com, New York City had the world's worst air quality of any major city in the world back on June 7, with an AQI rating over 350, more than twice as high as Dubai.
The Source: The Associated Press contributed to this report. This story was reported from Los Angeles.