The New York City skyline is under siege by wildfire smoke that transformed the vibrant metropolis into a smog-filled island on Wednesday.
The ominous orange haze first crept into all five boroughs on Tuesday and has settled, dipping the air quality to the worst of any city in the world.
The poor quality triggered a health advisory for residents to remain indoors and limit any outdoor activities that are not “absolute necessities.”
The advisory has left schools to suspend outdoor activities for the day, and for the city to shutter its zoos in Central Park, Queens and Brooklyn.
The Air Quality Index in the city reached an astounding 353 Wednesday afternoon, way above the unprecedented 218 from yesterday’s peak.
It is the worst air quality in the Big Apple since at least the 1980s, with officials warning that such events could become more commonplace due to climate change.
The smoke is being produced by more than 150 forest fires occurring in Quebec, the majority of which have been deemed out of control.
The smoke is being picked up by southbound winds, which has been delivering them to New York City since May.
Although smoke and haze from fires as far as British Columbia and Nova Scotia have moved downstream into the city since late last month, the recent smog from Quebec has been far more severe than in previous weeks.
Fires in Canada have charred a combined area that is larger than Maryland and displaced tens of thousands of people, officials said.
Wildfire smoke can lead to difficulty breathing, asthma attacks, irritated throat, bronchitis, reduced lung function, coughing and chest pains, according to the CDC.
The smoke in the air can also lead to headaches, eye and sinus irritation and fatigue, with symptoms likely to be exacerbated among people with pre-existing respiratory issues.
Air pollution from wildfire smoke can be especially harmful to young children, older adults, pregnant women and people with asthma.
Short-term exposure to the smoke can also increase the risk of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.
Mayor Eric Adams has issued health advisories over the poor air quality lingering over the city on Tuesday and Wednesday, warning residents about the smoky conditions.
“This is something that has never impacted [the city] on this scale before,” Adams said at a press conference Wednesday morning.
“We had dangerously high levels of wildfire smoke from thousands of miles away … from the gloom over Yankee Stadium to the smoky haze obscuring the skyline…we could see it, we could smell it and we felt it.”
Adams cautioned residents to remain inside with air conditioning “to the greatest extent possible,” and to wear masks if they needed to venture outside.
“This is not the day to train for a marathon or do an outside event with your children,” he said.
Adams and health experts also advised people to wear masks, and especially N95 masks if possible.
The Air Quality Health Advisory will remain in effect until Thursday, officials said, but the city may not see relief from the smoke until the end of the week.
New York City’s air quality index — which measures pollution from 0 to 500, with higher numbers being worse — initially improved incrementally Wednesday morning, dropping from 164 to 158 within a few hours, before getting worse when a new wave of smoke hit the city in the afternoon, according to IQair.
“We’ll be in this same kind of weather pattern through today, and tomorrow as well,” Fox Weather meteorologist Stephen McCloud told The Post. “By Sunday night we should start to see improvement as a new storm system from the west approaches and starts to move this storm system out.”
“Once that storm system from the west starts to come in, it’s going to change the wind direction. Once the wind direction changes, the smoke will not be able to come down into parts of the Northeast and mid-Atlantic,” he added.