New Yorkers were gripped by the worst urban air quality in the world Thursday, and Americans could face days or even weeks of smoky siege from the drifting haze of unrelenting Canadian wildfires.
Hundreds of community parks, ballfields and other outdoor spaces from Canada to North Carolina sat empty as air quality readings in many areas ranged from unhealthy to hazardous. The low-pressure system adrift over Maine and Nova Scotia that has helped funnel the ashen air will probably be “hanging around at least for the next few days,” National Weather Service meteorologist Bryan Ramsey said.
Conditions are likely to remain unhealthy until the wind direction changes or the fires are doused, he said.
“Since the fires are raging, they’re really large, they’re probably going to continue for weeks,” Ramsey said. “It’s really just going be all about the wind shift.”
The good news, AccuWeather reports, is that parts of the Northeast could see modest air quality improvements though the day Thursday, although it will take until Friday or Friday night for significant improvement in some locations. The bad news is some of the most dense smoke may shift west toward Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Detroit, AccuWeather said.
Canada wildfire smoke updates: At least 100 million Americans affected by air quality alerts
Developments:
∙The air quality monitoring website iqair.com had New York City at the top of its global list Thursday. Detroit rose as high as third before falling back into the 20s.
∙Friday will be a remote-instruction day for the more than 1 million students attending New York City public schools.
∙Authorities warned residents across much of the Northeast to stay inside and limit or avoid outdoor activities Thursday, extending “Code Red” alerts in some places for a third-straight day
∙Low visibility from the haze forced temporary “ground stops” on all flights out of New York’s LaGuardia Airport and Philadelphia International Airport early Thursday.
Pets are…
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