Air quality today: New York pollution to remain hazardous as no end in sight for Canadian wildfire smoke

“It bears repeating how unprepared we are for the climate crisis,” said New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. writing on Twitter on Wednesday, referring to the smoke and the recent spike in temperatures in Puerto Rico. “We need to adapt our food systems, energy networks, infrastructure, healthcare, etc. as soon as possible to prepare for what is to come and catch up with what is already there.”

Fellow progressive Bernie Sanders issued a similar note, in writing on Twitter: “Right now 98 MILLION people on the East Coast are on air quality alert for Canadian fires and last night NYC had the worst air quality in the world.”

More details in our full story.

As smoke from wildfires in eastern Canada engulfs the east coast of the United States, air quality alerts in the “hazardous” category have been issued in some areas. But what exactly do ‘code red’, ‘very unhealthy’ or ‘dangerous’ alerts mean?

The Air Quality Index (AQI), presented on the Environmental Protection Agency website AirNow websiteuses a color-coded system to rank air quality on a 500-point scale, providing the public with an easy-to-understand assessment of the health effects of indoor air.

The lower end of the scale, which is green, represents healthy air, while the higher ends, color-coded red, purple, and brown, represent dangerous and extremely unhealthy conditions.

Currently, the air quality in New York is in the purple category, indicating hazardous conditions.

The AQI takes into account some key measures of air pollution, such as particulate pollution, ground-level ozone, and gases like carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. With the smoke from the wildfires coming from Canada, these dangerous gases have increased in the atmosphere, especially the fine particles called PM2.5, which are a pollutant.

These pollutants can have a variety of health effects, often leading to respiratory system irritation, inflammation, and the potential development of diseases such as asthma and heart disease.

Scale levels are determined based on the concentration of pollutants in the air, measured in parts per million, over specific periods of time – usually one hour, eight hours or 24 hours, depending on the pollutant.

While an AQI of orange was unhealthy for vulnerable people, an AQI level of red is considered unhealthy for all individuals, with purple being considered “dangerous” for everyone.

There are various health advisories in place urging residents to limit outdoor activities and wear masks specifically designed to filter fine particles, such as N95 masks.

Thousands of residents in Canada remain displaced from their homes as raging wildfires continue to wreak havoc, in what has proven to be the “worst wildfire season ever”.

The current tally stands at more than 20,000 people evacuated, including about 11,400 people from remote areas of northern Quebec, as authorities fear the number will rise with the fires rapidly spreading their reach.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Quebec Premier Francois Legault said evacuees will not be able to return to their communities until next week, CBC News reported.

Legault said the dry weather and strong winds are creating dangerous conditions and heavy smoke in areas that have been evacuated so far.

Federal authorities have temporarily suspended flights to New York’s LaGuardia Airport “due to low visibility” from smoke from wildfires smothering the East Coast.

Departures were blocked until 2 p.m. ET on June 7, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The agency also delayed flights from the upper U.S. Midwest and East Coast to LaGuardia.

Newark Liberty International Airport, another major travel hub nearby, also announced a ground delay. The airport said the ‘current state of the smoke’ could impact flights and urged travelers to check with their airlines ‘to determine the status of your flight’.

FAA traffic management officer Samuel Ausby said wind patterns bringing smoke to the northeast “could impact airport travel.” More than 16,200 flights were delayed and 79 flights were canceled as of 1 p.m. Wednesday, according to FlightAware.

Alex Woodward has the details.

As wildfires continue to rage, air quality in New York City is expected to deteriorate for a few more days, forecasters say. But amid an ongoing climate crisis, many climate scientists are warning that wildfires could become more frequent and intense, leading to more air pollution.

Many officials have urged people to limit their time outdoors and wear masks to protect themselves from the smoke. In fact, smoke from wildfires carries a number of pollutants that can pose a number of dangerous risks and effects.

My colleague Meredith Clark has this list of do’s and don’ts to help you stay safe during the Code Red air quality alert.

New York City has been blanketed in thick smoke for the past two days as air quality continues to fall, prompting health alerts across the northeastern United States.

However, it still seems like there is no end in sight as the weather systems are expected to barely move.

The smoky blanket rising from wildfires in Quebec and Nova Scotia and sending plumes of fine particles as far away as North Carolina may persist Thursday and possibly into the weekend, experts say.

It means at least another day, or more, of a dystopian-style detour that has driven players from ballparks, actors from Broadway stages, delayed thousands of flights and sparked a resurgence in mask-wearing and the remote working – while raising concerns about the health effects of prolonged exposure to such bad air.

The weather system chasing the large Canada-US smoke – a low-pressure system over Maine and Nova Scotia – “is likely to hang around for at least the next few days,” the US National Weather Service meteorologist said. Brian Ramsey.

“Since the fires are raging – they are really big – they will probably continue for weeks. But it will really be a matter of the changing winds.

The Independent‘s senior climate correspondent Louise Boyle has this wildfire smoke tracker where you can check where the pollution is heading next:

The air quality over New York improved slightly on June 7 but deteriorated rapidly in the afternoon, reaching an air quality index of over 400 in parts of the city – the worst level in the world – and about 58 times the World Health Organization guidelines.

The federal government’s index for measuring air quality classifies anything over 300 as “hazardous.” By comparison, the weekend index was 20.

Skies over the northeastern United States, including New York, have been engulfed in smoke from Canada as around 400 wildfires continue to rage across the country.

Air quality in the US city has hit record highs after thick smoke billowed south from devastating wildfires in Canada.

An audience member at the matinee production of At first glance at the John Golden Theater told Deadline that Comer, 30, appeared on stage 10 minutes late.