Over 400 Canadian wildfires are sending smoke to the Northeast US. Smoke has reduced vision, toxic air, and burnt orange skies in New York City, Boston, and Philadelphia.
Local government officials recommend working from home, keeping dogs indoors, and wearing N95 masks outdoors. Manhattan's air quality was never the worst, but now it is.
New York City has the world's worst air quality, according to the AQI. On Thursday morning, state officials said that all New York City public schools will be closed Thursday and Friday and
that citizens should stay indoors until circumstances improve, possibly by the weekend. Sporting activities and Broadway musicals were postponed, and New York flights were delayed and canceled.
In a news conference, New York City mayor called the air quality alert a "unprecedented event." On Wednesday, June 7, at 5:00 p.m., Manhattan's AQI reached 484 (the highest number on the scale is 500).
Thankfully, the city's AQI has dropped to 177. However, New York City still has the worst air quality in the world.
Chongqing, Southwest China's largest city, ranks tenth with 107 AQI. AQI scores between 101 and 150 indicate "unhealthy for sensitive groups." Immunocompromised, aged, asthmatics, etc.
Delhi, India ranks eighth with 113 AQI. Krasnoyarsk, Russia is eighth with 117, while Jakarta, Indonesia is seventh with 123.
Toronto, eight hours from the huge wildfire outbreak, barely had an AQI of 128. The metropolis has cleaner air than the Tri-State area.
Lahore (137 AQI) and Hanoi (147 AQI) are fifth and fourth, respectively. Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, ranks third worst. The area has 156 "unhealthy" air quality. Dhaka, Bangladesh has 158 AQI, second to New York City.
New York City's AQI will shift and potentially decline as winds move smoke out of the area, while dirty air may settle on southern cities.
New Yorkers aren't used to this air. Manhattan did not rank among the 50 worst U.S. cities for air quality from 2017 through 2022. It's unusual. Stay careful and close windows until fires are under control!