New York City became the most polluted city in the world overnight as acrid smoke from over 400 Canadian wildfires blanketed the Great Lakes and Northeast.
A thick haze shrouded the famous Big Apple skyline and turned the moon red, while the city’s Air Quality Index score soared past 200, which is deemed ‘very unhealthy’.
At least ten school districts in New York cancelled all outdoor activities due to the smog, and vulnerable Big Apple residents were advised to limit outdoor exposure until the pollution level improves.
The source of the chaos was a series of ongoing wildfires in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec, which have plunged over 100 million people through North America under some form of air quality alert.
New York City was blanketed by a thick sheet of smoke Tuesday evening due to record wildfires in Canada
Manhattanites were barely able to see the Statue of Liberty across the Hudson River
Residents attend a morning yoga class on Manhattan’s The Edge observation deck as a haze from the wildfires hangs over the city
A thick sheet of smoke from the wildfires first descended on New York on Tuesday before thickening throughout the afternoon, leaving those in Manhattan unable to see the New Jersey skyline across the Hudson River.
As well as sending New Yorkers inside, air quality alerts were also introduced in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and the Carolinas, according to the National Weather Service.
At around 10pm Tuesday, New York briefly set the mark for the worst air pollution in the world, overtaking the Indian capital of Delhi.
According to the IQAir rankings, New York currently has the second worst air quality in the world, with its air particle (PM2.5) concentration 14.6 times stronger than the WHO’s guidelines.
The city of Detroit, Michigan was also in the top five metros with the worst air quality as of Wednesday, with numerous US cities continuing to be plagued by the smog.
A woman seen jogging along the Hudson River as a smoky sunrise looms over Manhattan
Residents are being urged to avoid outdoor exposure due to the reduced air quality
The city briefly topped the list of the metros with the worst air pollution in the world
The thick smoke is seen hanging over New York City, where the World Trade Center can barely be seen from The Edge observation deck in Hudson Yards
Much of the smoke has been from Quebec, where over 400 wildfires are burning as Canadian officials warn they are in the midst of their worst fire season on record.
Throughout the nation, Canadian officials have deemed more than 240 of the blazes to be ‘out of control’.
Many of the fires that sparked the smoke crisis have been burning for weeks, but were forced south in recent days due to a storm system blowing in over Nova Scotia.
The weather pushed much of the smoke across the East Coast, and is expected to continue for the next several days.
New York was among numerous states to be placed under air quality alerts
Photographers seen capturing the Statue of Liberty shrouded in smoke on June 6, 2023
Over 150 ongoing wildfires in Canada plunged the city into a hazy smog
The smoke over the city lingered throughout Tuesday evening
Unseasonably dry and warm weather has been blamed for the crisis, with the coming months expected to bring more of the same conditions that turned Canadian forestry into a tinderbox.
Last month alone saw around 6.6 million acres burn in wildfires, the equivalent of 5 million football fields.
The US Environmental Protection Agency introduced sweeping air quality alerts throughout Tuesday as the smoke continued to blow in from across the northern border.
Over 100 million people are under some form of warning, with residents in the northeast seeing their air quality reclassified as ‘unhealthy’.
New York City saw its Air Quality Index score (pictured) rise past 200 overnight, which is deemed to be in the ‘very unhealthy’ range
Smoke billowing from a major wildfire in Fort Nelson, British Columbia, Canada on June 3, 2023
Over 400 fires are active across the nation, with Canadian officials deeming 240 of the fires as ‘out of control’
Canada is currently experiencing its worst wildfire season in recent memory, with over 6.7 million acres burned since the start of the year
The remains of a vehicle and home after a wildfire scorched the area in Nova Scotia, Canada on June 6, 2023
In New York City, officials also warned vulnerable individuals such as the elderly or those with breathing problems to only go outside if they have a high-grade mask.
The effects are understandably worse at the source of the wildfires, as Environment Canada issued its strongest possible air quality warning by placing Ottawa under a ‘very high risk’ alert.
Residents of Toronto and the surrounding areas also saw their air quality deemed ‘high risk’.
Thousands of people have also been evacuated across the country, with fires also reported in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Nova Scotia and the Northwest Territories.
The Staten Island Ferry is pictured through the mass of smoke as it sails in front of the Statue of Liberty
The sun seen rising over New York City on Wednesday morning, where smoke remained after drifting in the day before
The iconic Times Square was blanketed by the orange haze and smoke
Hazy skies seen over the skyline in Washington DC, one of many East Coast hubs to have been hit by the smoke
The view of Jersey City, New Jersey from across the Hudson River on June 6, 2023
Air quality warnings are yet to be lifted throughout the US, with pollution levels at unhealthy levels in states including North Dakota, Missouri and Virginia.
For those in cities with hazardous levels, residents are advised to exercise indoors and wear a good quality mask when stepping outside.
The effects of breathing wildfire smoke and air pollution can be extremely damaging, causing symptoms including chest pains and irritation of the eyes, nose and throat.
‘On these elevated air pollution days, we’ll see an increased number of visits to hospital,’ said Matthew Adams, professor at the University of Toronto and the director of its Centre of Urban Environments, to the BBC.
‘And the people that are visiting the hospital typically have a pre-existing respiratory disease.’