Historic levels of smog are hitting cities around North America due to ongoing Canadian wildfires, according to reports.
New York City was under an Air Quality Health Advisory until Thursday morning due to wind patterns pushing smoke across the five boroughs. The smoke is moving south from more than 150 forest fires in Quebec, the New York Post reports.
One hundred ten of those fires have been deemed out of control, per the outlet. Meanwhile, according to USA Today, at least 100 million people are affected by air quality alerts as of Wednesday afternoon.
Earlier Wednesday morning, the Big Apple was surpassed only by New Delhi, India, and Dhaka, Bangladesh, regarding air pollution. However, those two cities’ air quality issues are unrelated to the ongoing wildfires.
“We’ll be in this same kind of weather pattern through today, and tomorrow as well,” Fox Weather meteorologist Stephen McCloud told the Post. “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.”
The wildfire smoke is so widespread that it was visible from the International Space Station, per CBS News.
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New York City Covered By Wildfire Smoke Across Five Boroughs
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The New York Post reports that air quality in New York City has reached worse levels than after the Sept. 11 attacks as of late Wednesday afternoon.
At 10 p.m. Tuesday (June 6), pollution in parts of the city had reached a “very unhealthy” level.
By Wednesday, the air quality in the five boroughs was the worst of any major city in the world, per IQair.
The Big Apple’s air quality index – which measures pollution levels ranging from 0 to 500 – was a whopping 353 AQI on Wednesday afternoon.
Anything over 301 is considered hazardous,
NYC remained on par with Toronto in Canada, where the wildfires are ravaging portions of the country.
But the eastern fires, which lie closer to the U.S., are doing the most damage stateside, according to maps provided by the Fire Information for Resource Management System U.S. / Canada.
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Pennsylvania Reports Dire Smog Situations
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While New York City remains hidden under a sepia-tone fog, Pennsylvania reported just as dire smog conditions.
Several areas across the two states are among the highest AQI locations as of Wednesday afternoon, according to AirNow.
Those areas include Scranton, Wilkes-Barres, and Susquehanna Valley in Pennsylvania and Kent County, Sussex County.
The Lehigh Valley, Berks County, Philadelphia, and other areas of Pennsylvania were also hit hard by pollution levels caused by Canadian wildfires.
Local wildfires are also impacting parts of Pennsylvania.
Wednesday is now a “Code Red” day for air quality across the Philadelphia region.
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Delaware Conditions
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Delaware has similarly issued a “Code Red” air quality alert. According to CBS News, the state anticipates Thursday will also be an air quality action day.
Delaware Online reports that locals noticed the smell of burning rubber on Wednesday due to pollution caused by Canadian wildfires.
As of 10 a.m., Wednesday, the air quality index (AQI) throughout most of Delaware was above 200.
Anything between 201 and 300 is considered “very unhealthy.”
This means the risk of health effects increases for everyone, not just those with health problems.
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What's Next? What To Do? Weather Experts Say...
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Wind trajectories that have brought the smoke mentioned above and smog will likely continue in the New York City area for the next several days, according to the National Weather Service.
The polluted, smoky air will eventually go westward in the coming days, per AccuWeather.
“On Thursday and Friday, the worst smoke and related air quality is expected to shift west across the Great Lakes and parts of Ohio Valley and interior Northeast including the cities of Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and Detroit,” said AccuWeather director of forecasting operations Dan DePodwin.
All told, smoke caused by Canadian wildfires is expected to blanket upwards of one-third of the United States, per the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Meanwhile, people are being told to remain inside as much as possible.
