Residents in New York city have been warned that the city's air quality advisory is going to be extended until tomorrow, Thursday, June 8th, until 12pm.
Governor Kathy Hochul said the worsening air quality was being treated as "an emergency crisis."
As of an hour ago, flights at Laguardia and Newark have been halted or delayed and NYC schools have axed all after-school activities.
DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos and State Department of Health (DOH) Commissioner Dr. James McDonald have issued an air quality warning covering Long Island, New York City Metro, Lower Hudson Valley, Upper Hudson Valley, Eastern Lake Ontario, Central New York and Western New York regions.
The toxic smog comes from the week-long forest fires in Canada.
Smoke hit the city on Tuesday, with many snapping photos of the reddish fog clouding the skyline. Currently, the Air Quality Index (AQI) has given the city's air quality a value of 100 - which is considered "unhealthy."
There's also a warning for individuals with respiratory issues like asthma, to keep the windows shot and stay home if possible.
Residents of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia have also been issued the warning.
While most of the red is currently clearing out of the sky, the New York Weather service says we can expect the air to keep shifting. You can keep track through an interactive map tweeted out by NYW here:
Flights grounded at Laguardia, Newark
The FAA announced an hour ago that flights out of Laguardia and Newark have been delayed, due to visibility concerns.
“The FAA has slowed traffic to and from the New York City area airports due to reduced visibility from wildfire smoke,” the FAA told CNN in a statement. “The agency will adjust the volume of traffic to account for the rapidly changing conditions.”
Flights in Boston, Philadelphia, and Detroit may also be affected as the air quality advisory goes on.
How long is the smoke in the air going to last in New York?
It's difficult to give an exact time. Although the current warning is issued until tomorrow, it is likely that air quality warning will be extended, as there are currently over 300 fires raging throughout Canada, in the provinces of Quebec, Alberta, and British Colombia (as of June 6th).
The large amount of smoke seen in the air are relatively recent, as a storm system on the Atlantic coast is currently blowing the smokey air south, towards populated cities in the Eastern seaboard.
According to data from tracking site FlightAware, airlines in the U.S. have canceled 120 flights and delayed another 1,928 so far.
Protecting your respiratory health during wildfire season
The mayor's office tweeted out a warning today stating that New Yorkers "with heart or breathing issues...(should) be careful when outdoors....Try to limit outdoor activities today to the absolute necessities."
IQAir suggests shutting doors and windows to prevent this air from penetrating homes and workspaces, and setting all HVAC units to "recirculate" mode. If you have a high-performance air filter, now is the time to break it out. If you must go outdoors, wear a high-quality mask, such as the KN95 or FFP2 ones worn to prevent Covid.
According to the NewScientist, "air pollution from wildfire smoke is largely made up of fine particulate matter, or PM2.5. The smoke can irritate the eyes, nose and throat, and can be particularly bad for people with asthma or heart disease, or for young children and elderly people."
