NYC Air Quality Could Deteriorate By Thursday From Wildfire Smoke

NEW YORK CITY — New York City's air quality likely will worsen by Thursday as suffocating plumes of wildfire smoke from Canada drift over the city, officials warned.

The city's air quality index stood at 68 as of Wednesday morning, firmly within the "moderate range," according to airnow.gov.

Forecasters project that the city's air quality will remain in the moderate range Wednesday, but conditions can quickly change without notice, according to a city health department statement released in the morning.

"While forecasting air quality is challenging and often unpredictable, we anticipate that conditions could deteriorate – getting worse on Thursday -- due to unprecedented wildfires in Canada," the statement reads.

New York state is under a cautionary air quality advisory Wednesday that's likely to continue into Thursday, officials said.

Gov. Kathy Hochul warned Tuesday that New York likely will see a return of heavy wildfire smoke and haze.

The smoke spewed from more than 300 wildfires in Canada this week first drifted over the Midwest, prompting air quality alerts and scenes similar to the hazy skies that New York City saw as June dawned.

An air quality index of 50 or below is considered safe, while that of 100 or more is considered unsafe for children, older adults or people with heart or breathing problems.

All New Yorkers should take precautions if the air quality index goes over 150, city health officials warned. Those precautions include limiting time outdoors and avoiding prolonged and intense outside activities.

Mayor Eric Adams said Wednesday that high quality masks will be available for city dwellers to pick up at NYPD precincts and FDNY firehouses.

"I urge all New Yorkers to monitor air quality reports in the coming days and be prepared to take precautions or change plans accordingly," he said.