'Worst air in the world' this week in eastern U.S.

New York City briefly topped the list of cities with the world’s worst air pollution Tuesday as harmful smoke wafted south from over one hundred wildfires in Quebec.

New York City’s air quality index was above 200 at one point Tuesday night – a level that is “very unhealthy,” according to IQair. The city had worse air quality than the usual locations in India, Iraq and Pakistan.

Intense Canadian wildfires are blanketing the northeastern U.S. in a dystopian haze, turning the air acrid and prompting warnings for vulnerable populations to stay inside.

U.S. authorities issued air quality alerts as hazy conditions and smoke from the wildfires were also reported across the Great Lakes region from Cleveland to Buffalo.

A smoky haze that hung over New York City much of the day Tuesday thickened in the late afternoon, obscuring views of New Jersey across the Hudson River and making the setting sun look like a reddish orb. In the Philadelphia area, dusk brought more of a lavender haze.

Smoke from the fires has wafted through northeast U.S. states for weeks now, but it’s only recently been noticeable in most places.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Tuesday’s hazy skies “were hard to miss,” and New York City Mayor Eric Adams encouraged residents to limit outdoor activities ”to the absolute necessities.”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said the smoke will linger for a few days in northern states.

The Quebec-area fires are big and relatively close, about 500 to 600 miles away from Rhode Island. And they followed wildfires in Nova Scotia, which resulted in a short-lived air quality alert on May 30, Austin said.

Jay Engle, a National Weather Service meteorologist based in Upton, Long Island, said the wind trajectory that allowed smoke and hazy conditions to be seen in the New York City area could continue for the next few days. Of course, he said, the main driver of conditions is the fires themselves. If they diminish, the haze would too.

Trent Ford, the state climatologist in Illinois, said the atmospheric conditions in the upper Midwest creating dry, warm weather made it possible for small particulates to travel hundreds of miles from the Canadian wildfires and linger for days.




The sun rises over a hazy New York City skyline as seen from Jersey City, N.J., Wednesday, June 7, 2023. Intense Canadian wildfires are blanketing the northeastern U.S. in a dystopian haze, turning the air acrid, the sky yellowish gray and prompting warnings for vulnerable populations to stay inside. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)