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Smoke, heat, and AQI
Canadian wildfire smoke blanketed the New York City area as the Air Quality Index (API) reached 151-200 Wednesday afternoon, levels at which officials warn "all New Yorkers" to stay inside and limit outside activity.
“NEW YORK (WABC) -- All of New York State, including New York City, and parts of New Jersey are under an Air Quality Advisory due to the smoke from more than 100 wildfires burning in Canada”
The New York City Office of Emergency Management said the visible smoke was traveling through the Empire State and turning bright blue skies into a pale haze, while temperatures were expected to near 100 degrees throughout the Big Apple Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, the AQI was between 101 and 150, and the city activated its heat emergency plan even as NYCEM warned that ground-level impacts were still uncertain.
New York City Emergency Management Commissioner Christina Farrell said, "If you’re sensitive to air quality, don’t remain in a space without air conditioning or filtration."
Newsday reported that smoke from the Canadian wildfires was expected to thicken over New York and Long Island from Wednesday evening through Thursday, with poor air quality and hazy and sometimes orange skies.
Who faces risk
Newsday said Wednesday's heat and humidity combined with smoke from fires in Ontario created oppressive conditions that urged Long Islanders and the New York region to remain inside with air conditioning when possible.
The National Weather Service said an Air Quality warning was in effect through Thursday night, and the smoke could get worse on Thursday with unhealthy conditions for all groups, according to the U.S. Air Quality Index.
Suffolk County Department of Health Services Commissioner Dr. Gregson Pigott said residents should limit exercise outdoors, and he said symptoms including eye, nose and throat irritation, shortness of breath or chest pain should be reported to doctors.
In New York City, NYC Emergency Management and city health officials warned that poor air quality can trigger asthma attacks and that people should pay extra-close attention to symptoms in children and people with heart or lung conditions.
Gothamist described the air quality index categories as ranging from “good” to “hazardous,” with red indicating that the air is “unhealthy” and orange indicating that it’s "unhealthy for sensitive groups."
Forecasts and public guidance
USA Today said smoke wafting southward from hundreds of active fires in Canada on Wednesday, July 15, led to yellow, brown and hazy skies from the Great Lakes region to the Northeast.
“Heavy smoke from several large wildfires blazing in Canada and Minnesota is expected to engulf large swaths of the Midwest and Northeast U”
The National Weather Service said surface smoke was expected to spread into Pennsylvania on Wednesday night and Thursday, July 16, and reach parts of Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., while also warning that reduced visibility and degraded air quality may persist through the end of the week.
USA Today also reported that the National Weather Service expected smoke to continue drifting south across the Northeast into Wednesday, bringing hazy skies and worsened air quality, as a heat wave pushed the Air Quality Index in all or part of New York City to Level Red.
In New Jersey, Bergen Record said air quality continued to worsen July 15 as smoke from Canadian wildfires filtered through the area, with Paterson’s air quality rising to 132 up from 75 earlier in the day.
The Globe and Mail reported that Environment Canada meteorologist Jean-Philippe Bégin said winds from the northwest will continue to blanket southern Ontario with smoke until at least Friday, when they are expected to change direction and blow northward.
