The smoke from ferocious Canadian wildfires cast a sickly pall over much of the eastern United States today, worsening air quality for millions of people.
About 98 million people in parts of 18 states from New Hampshire to South Carolina were under air quality alerts this morning for both wildfire smoke and ozone.
Poor air quality affects 18 states
- The air quality in New York City was the worst in the world as of 3 p.m. ET, according to IQAir.com, a tracking service.
- More than 400 wildfires are burning in Canada, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fires Centre.
- In Quebec, more than 150 forest fires were burning yesterday, with more than 110 considered out of control.
- The FAA took steps to limit air traffic around New York City, temporarily grounding flights at LaGuardia Airport.
National Weather Service says 'not a great deal' of improved air quality expected tomorrow
In a sobering alert this afternoon, the National Weather Service said that forecasters expect "not a great deal" of air quality improvement heading into tomorrow as thick smoke from ferocious Canada wildfires continues to waft southward along the eastern U.S.
The weather service tweeted a map showing that air quality will be particularly poor in New York, the mid-Atlantic region and parts of the Midwest, including swaths of Indiana and Ohio.
Yankees and Phillies games postponed, too
Tonight's games between the Detroit Tigers and the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park (originally slated for 6:05 p.m. ET) and the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium (originally set for 7:05 p.m. ET) have been postponed because of the dangerous conditions, the MLB said in a news release.
"These postponements were determined following conversations throughout the day with medical and weather experts and all of the impacted Clubs regarding clearly hazardous air quality conditions in both cities," the league said.
WNBA game between NYC and Minneapolis postponed because of hazardous conditions
Tonight's WNBA game between the New York Liberty and the Minnesota Lynx has been postponed because of the dangerous conditions along the eastern U.S., a spokesperson for the Brooklyn-based team confirmed to NBC News.
The game was scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Wildfire smoke grounds flights out of NYC
June 7, 202303:34Grubhub tells drivers they will not be penalized for avoiding areas where they'd feel unsafe
At least one online delivery group is telling drivers they can avoid the most heavily affected parts of their cities without facing consequences on their platform.
In a statement, Grubhub confirmed it had alerted drivers that they would not be penalized "for opting out of blocks if they do not feel safe completing deliveries."
The company added that following New York City’s announcement about air quality deteriorating, it was also "reminding those with pre-existing conditions to stay inside."
Just after 2 p.m. Wednesday, New York City officials said they'd extended the warning to limit outdoor activity until Thursday at midnight.
Biden administration send firefighters to Canada to battle wildfires
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has deployed over 600 U.S. firefighters and personnel to help battle Canadian wildfires as heavy smoke blankets the northeastern United States, the White House said.
Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Wednesday that Washington had also sent equipment, such as water bombers, to help put out the hundreds of blazing fires and that officials were in touch with the Canadian government.
She said federal agencies at home were sharing information with local officials about the air quality in areas that have been impacted and urged Americans to “take precautions, especially if you have conditions.”
Jean-Pierre demurred when asked if President Biden, who dealt with asthma as a child, had been advised to wear a mask outdoors but said he did not wear a mask on Wednesday when walking from his residence to the Oval Office, an outdoor path along the colonnade.
“No one is wearing a mask. It’s a short walk,” Jean-Pierre said.
U.N. secretary general calls for more efforts to limit wildfires in a warming world
Google tells employees in New York and along the East Coast to work from home
Google is telling its East Coast employees to stay home as wildfire smoke fills the air in New York and other major cities.
Company site leads in New York wrote in a memo to workers in the area that air quality in many parts of the region had reached “unhealthy” levels, citing the New York state Department of Environmental Conservation. In New York, most employees have been expected to work from physical offices at least three days a week.
“We are advising Googlers to work from home if possible, and limit their exposure to outdoor air,” according to the note, which was obtained by CNBC. “Terraces across our New York campus will remain closed today.”
Read the full story on CNBC.com
NYC ranks worst in the world for air quality
June 7, 202304:06Startling images show NYC skyline Monday versus today
Black residents of Detroit brace themselves for rougher conditions
Detroit’s air quality is among the world’s worst due to the Canadian wildfires, potentially exacerbating many health problems that residents of the predominantly Black city have struggled with for generations.
Detroit resident Sandra Turner-Handy, a retiree of the Michigan Environmental Council, said that before the fires, locals had been breathing high particulate matter and other toxins “on a consistent basis.” She said she is especially concerned about the effects of the fires on those who live near the Detroit River, an area sought for industrial use and which contains high levels of pollution.
She said Detroit’s “asthma rates are three times that of other cities in our state.”
Turner-Handy, who has emphysema — a lung disease that causes breathlessness — calls Detroit’s pollution problem an “environmental injustice” and has concerns about how the smoke could spread to her area, potentially impacting her own health.
“I have a fear of anything that’s going to impact my respiratory health,” she said. “I have a great fear.”
Communities of color and low-income populations are exposed to higher levels of PM2.5, atmospheric fine particulate matter, compared to other groups in the U.S., according to a study last year conducted by Harvard University. A 2020 poll by the Environmental Defense Fund found that 58% of Black adults living in Detroit are twice as likely than white residents to be concerned about air pollution in their communities. Poor air quality conditions are even worse in regions like southwest Detroit, whose residents experience asthma hospitalization rates three times higher than the state average.
Experts like Jessie Singer, author of “There Are No Accidents,” said the recent air pollution only illustrates the ways Black communities are made more vulnerable to environmental disasters and climate change through policy and infrastructure decisions. For example, Black people are more likely to live where there is greater exposure to air pollution as a result of residential segregation, according to the American Lung Association.
“Systemic racism defines whether or not you have the excess cash to have an air filter in your home,” Singer said. “If you have less access to health care, if you grow up in a polluted environment, if you don’t have the economic freedom to take time off work, then when a wildfire happens, you’re more vulnerable.”
Broadway show starring Jodie Comer briefly halted after star has 'difficulty breathing'
Today's matinee performance of the Broadway production of "Prima Facie" was briefly paused after the show's star, Emmy Award-winning actor Jodie Comer, experienced "difficulty breathing," according to a spokeswoman for the production.
The performance was "halted approximately 10 minutes into the performance after Jodie Comer had difficulty breathing due to the poor air quality in New York City because of smoke from the Canadian wildfires," said a spokeswoman for The Press Room, a theater publicity firm.
The spokeswoman said the performance was set to start again "from the top" with understudy Dani Arlington filling in for Comer in the role of Tessa.
Comer is best known for her co-starring role on the twisty BBC America spy thriller "Killing Eve."
New York City's air quality is officially the worst in the world
The current air quality in New York City hit more than 340 on the air quality index scale this afternoon, making it the worst in the world, according to IQAir, a Swiss monitoring service.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors when the air quality is poor?
As air quality continues to plummet, runners may want to rethink their plans, experts say.
An air quality index over 150 signals that outdoor exercise may be risky, said Dr. Panagis Galiatsatos, a pulmonologist with the American Lung Association.
“It’s like swimming in polluted water,” he said.
“You’re going to get irritated, probably 20 minutes into your jog,” Galiatsatos said. “You’ll develop a cough, some dryness and you may even get a little bit more breathless because what you’re trying to do is some level of endurance, but your lungs aren’t breathing in healthy air, they’re breathing in toxins, they’re breathing in noxious stimuli. You’ll feel that toll.”
How to keep your air quality safe as Canadian wildfire smoke spreads
June 7, 202302:26Read the full story here.
414 wildfires burning in Canada, more than 200 of them ‘out of control’
There are 414 wildfires burning in Canada as of today, 239 of which are considered “out of control,” Canadian Minister of Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair said in a news conference.
To date, an estimated 20,183 people remain evacuated from homes and communities.
“It’s all hands on deck and it’s around the clock,” Blair said of the government response to the blazes.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said hundreds of armed forces members have been deployed to provide additional support to firefighters and affected communities.
Washington is also lending support, with the U.S. Forest Service providing 648 personnel as of today.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters today that President Joe Biden was briefed on the fires last week and has been regularly updated since then. The U.S. has also sent equipment such as water bombers, she said.