Air quality in New York City, Philadelphia and other cities in the northeastern U.S. continued to border between “very unhealthy” and “hazardous,” a situation that is not expected to dramatically improve Thursday as smoke from hundreds of Canadian wildfires continues to envelop the region.
Smoke from wildfires in Canada spread badly at Times Square, known as the World Capital of New York, ... [+]
According to IQAir’s global tracker, New York remains the world’s most polluted “major city” although within the U.S. the air quality level in Philadelphia was significantly worse.
As of 2 a.m. ET, level of PM 2.5—airborne particles less than 2.5 microns in diameter—in New York stood at 297 micrograms per cubic meter of air or “very unhealthy” levels while the number for Philadelphia was 417 or “hazardous.”
Public schools in New York will remain closed for students on Thursday due to “Chancellor's Day” but the scheduled professional development training for the school’s teachers will take place remotely.
Schools in both cities have canceled all outdoor activities with some Philadelphia public schools even encouraging students to wear masks.
National Weather Service’s Air Quality Health Advisory for New York City and surrounding regions has been extended at least till midnight on Thursday.
The help battle the raging wildfires in Canada—the source of this pollution—the U.S. has sent “more than 600 U.S. firefighters and support personnel” to the country, the White House announced on Wednesday evening.
The EPA’s AirNow tracker labels an air quality level higher than 300 as “hazardous”—its most severe category. Everyone is urged to stay indoors and “reduce activity levels” when an area’s air quality is deemed to be hazardous.
- That is the total number of fires burning across the country of Canada at the moment, 247 of which are deemed “out of control, according to the Canadian Interagency Fire Center’s tracker. Both these numbers are a slight increase compared to early Wednesday morning.