Schools across the US East Coast cancelled outdoor activities, flights were halted and millions of Americans were urged to stay indoors on Wednesday as smoke from Canadian wildfires drifted south, blanketing cities in a thick yellowish haze.
The US National Weather Service issued air quality alerts for virtually the entire Atlantic seaboard. Health officials in states from Vermont to South Carolina and as far west as Ohio and Kansas warned residents that spending time outdoors could cause health problems due to the amount of fine particulates in the atmosphere.
"It's critical that Americans experiencing dangerous air pollution, especially those with health conditions, listen to local authorities to protect themselves and their families," President Joe Biden said on Twitter.
US private forecasting service AccuWeather said thick haze and soot extending from high elevations to ground level marked the worst outbreak of wildfire smoke to blanket the Northeastern US in more than 20 years.
New York's world-famous skyline, usually visible for miles, appeared to vanish underneath the otherworldly veil of smoke, which some residents said made them feel unwell.
"I can't breathe. It makes breathing difficult," Mohammed Abass said as he walked down Broadway in Manhattan.
"I've been scheduled for a road test for driving, for my driving license today, and it was cancelled."
Reduced visibility from the haze forced the Federal Aviation Administration to slow air traffic into the New York City area and Philadelphia from elsewhere on the East Coast and upper Midwest, with flight delays averaging about a half hour.
Schools up and down the East Coast called off outdoor activities, including sports practices, field trips, and recesses, to protect students.
A Broadway matinee of "Prima Facie" was halted after 10 minutes when actress Jodie Comer had difficulty breathing due to poor air quality.
The show was restarted with understudy Dani Arlington going on for Comer in the role of Tessa, a production spokesperson said in a statement.
A veil of smoke similar to the one that has taken over New York was seen in 2020 in Australia during the bushfire season. Source: ABACA / ABACA/PA/Alamy
A National Women's Soccer League match in Harrison, New Jersey, was also rescheduled, as was a WNBA women's basketball game in Brooklyn.
In some areas, the Air Quality Index (AQI), which measures major pollutants including particulate matter produced by fires, was well above 400, according to Airnow, which sets 100 as "unhealthy" and 300 as "hazardous."
At midday, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was experiencing the worst air quality in the country, with an AQI reading of 410.
Among major cities, New York had the worst air quality reading in the world on Wednesday afternoon at 342, about double the reading for chronically polluted cities such as Dubai (168) and Delhi (164), according to IQAir.
Where did the smoke come from?
The smoke billowed over the US border from Canada, where hundreds of forest fires have scorched 3.8 million hectares and forced 120,000 people from their homes in an unusually early and intense start to the wildfire season.
The skies above New York and many other North American cities grew progressively hazier through Wednesday, with an eerie yellowish tinge filtering through the smoky canopy. The air smelled like burning wood.
Wildfire smoke has been linked with higher rates of heart attacks and strokes, increases in emergency room visits for asthma and other respiratory conditions, and eye irritation, itchy skin and rashes, among other problems.
Batemans Bay, on the south coast of NSW, was one of the towns affected by the 2020 bushfires in Australia. Source: AAP / ABACA/PA/Alamy
Citizens struggle with poor air quality
A Home Depot store in Manhattan sold out of air purifiers and masks. New York Road Runners cancelled events intended to mark Global Running Day.
"This is not the day to train for a marathon or to do an outside event with your children," New York Mayor Eric Adams advised. "If you are older or have heart or breathing problems or an older adult, you should remain inside."
Pedestrians donned face masks in numbers that brought to mind the worst days of the coronavirus pandemic.
Tyrone Sylvester, 66, playing chess in Manhattan's Union Square as he has on most days for 30 years, but wearing a mask, said he had never seen the city's air quality so bad.
"When the sun looks like that," he said, pointing out the bronze-like orb visible through the smoky sky, "we know something's wrong. This is what global warming looks like."
Poor air quality is likely to persist into the weekend, with a developing storm system expected to shift the smoke westward across the Great Lakes and deeper south through the Ohio Valley and into the mid-Atlantic region, AccuWeather said.
