NYC Air Quality, Worst In The World, Sends City Racing Indoors

Updated 4:13 p.m.

NEW YORK CITY — Life for many New Yorkers ground to a smoky standstill Wednesday as clouds of wildfire haze prompted widespread cancelations.

Gov. Kathy Hochul capped a day of closures with stark readings of the air quality indices in Brooklyn and Queens, which stood at 413 and 407, respectively.

That's an 800 percent increase over the safe level of 50, she said.

“Our message right now is going to be reiterated multiple times because it is simply: stay indoors," she said.

Hochul and health officials also encouraged New Yorkers to wear an N95 or KN95 mask if they do go outdoors.

When New Yorkers woke up Wednesday they not only saw eerie skies filled with smoke from Canada, but had bits of everyday life drop away like once-common sights in the haze.

A ground stop was ordered for flights at LaGuardia Airport, Department of Education officials halted all outdoor and after-school activities and Mayor Eric Adams urged city dwellers to limit their time outside.

All those announcements came relatively early in the day, and others followed as the city's air quality reached worst-in-the-world status.

The city's three library systems all closed early Wednesday because of the smoke, officials said.

Central Park's "Taste of Summer" — an event expected to bring at least 800 people for tastings by 30 restaurants — was 86'd by organizers.

Shakespeare In The Park's rehearsals of "Hamlet" were canceled as well, and Public Theater's thespians eyed drawing the curtain on Thursday's performance as well.

Over in Brooklyn, Prospect Park's annual summer music festival's opening night concert was canceled.

And more mundane meetings such as one for a local Brooklyn community board went online only.

Even the stalwart Staten Island Ferry went on a modified schedule with 20-minute rush hour service because of limited visibility over the water from the smoke, city transportation officials tweeted.

Amid the closures, at least one New York City official criticized the mayor for not doing more. Council Member Lincoln Restler said the most consequential action Adams' administration took was a tweet.

"That's not getting stuff done, it's watching stuff happen," he wrote, before providing an action list.

Poor air quality is a major health threat with lasting consequences and we need to respond accordingly.

Here is what the City should be doing immediately: pic.twitter.com/1O2XxPzpTv
— Lincoln Restler (@LincolnRestler) June 7, 2023

Hochul said forecasters expect the smoke could clear over the weekend, but stressed that is far from certain.

Until then, her advice remained, "Please don’t go out if you don’t have to."

Related coverage: When Will The Smoke Clear In New York City?

Updated 3:04 p.m.

NEW YORK CITY — New York City's wildfire smoke-filled skies had the worst air quality of any major city's in the world Wednesday, according to an air monitoring company.

The city's air quality index hit 355 Wednesday afternoon as New Yorkers gazed upon an alien-looking landscape shrouded in yellow and orange haze, IQAir reported.

That level put the city's air quality into a "hazardous" range, according to the site. A level above 100 is considered merely (relatively) unhealthy.

A state air quality health advisory has been extended until Thursday at 11:59 p.m., Mayor Eric Adams tweeted.

"Mask up and limit your outdoor activities," he wrote.

Updated 10:47 a.m.

NEW YORK CITY — Wildfire smoke from Canada could linger over New York City for days as officials urged all city dwellers to limit their time outdoors.

“This is an unprecedented event in our city and New Yorkers must take precautions,” Mayor Eric Adams said Wednesday in a wide-ranging briefing over the smoke.

All five boroughs are under a state air quality health advisory, officials said.

City officials have canceled after-school events for public school children, in addition to their outdoor activities.

"All New Yorkers should limit outdoor activity to the greatest extent possible," Adams said.

"This is not the day to train for a marathon or to do an outside event with your children."

Conditions likely will improve later Wednesday and into the next morning, before deteriorating again Thursday afternoon, Adams said.

Unhealthy smoke likely will blanket the city for several days, and officials expect that advisory will remain in place for at least as long, said Zach Iscol, the city's emergency management commissioner.

But smoke is notoriously difficult to forecast, Iscol said, and he warned that New Yorkers could see air quality rapidly deteriorate as it did Tuesday evening.

New Yorkers almost watched — and smelled — in real time as air quality eroded Tuesday. By late evening, the air quality index reached 218.

A level above 100 is considered unhealthy.

The city's air quality during that span became the second-worst in the world, forecasters said.

Ashwin Vasan, the city's health commissioner, said it also reached an historic low.

"For a time, yesterday was the worst air quality in New York City since the 1960s," he said.

Iscol also warned that New York City could also see similar wildfire smoke events.

He noted that Canada's wildfire season usually peaks in July.

"This is something that we can continue to see possibly over the next few months," he said.

Iscol said New Yorkers could see potential improvements to the air starting Friday.

"But, again, difficult to forecast," he said.

9:42 a.m.

New Yorkers remain under a blanket of unhealthy wildfire smoke almost everywhere they lay their eyes — and nose.

"I smell smoke," one tweeted, speaking for thousands of city dwellers Tuesday into Wednesday.

"NYC is on fire."

New York City's air quality was the second-worst in the world Tuesday as smoke from wildfires in Canada blew over the boroughs, CNN reported. The air quality index hit 218 late Tuesday, forecasters said.

The city remains under an air quality alert Wednesday that warns of unhealthy affects, according to the National Weather Service.

Wednesday is projected to bring the worst air quality conditions for the city, AccuWeather reported.

The air is so bad that Mayor Eric Adams plans a public briefing at 10 a.m.

"We recommend all New Yorkers limit outdoor activity to the greatest extent possible," he said in a statement.

Public schools remain open, but will not offer outdoor activities, officials said.