New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani urged residents to take precautions as smoke from Canadian wildfires drifted south, causing air quality to plummet. 'Every New Yorker should take precautions. Limit your time outdoors, especially strenuous activity,' Mamdani said. The National Weather Service issued an air-quality alert as pollution levels were elevated across a huge swathe of the US, reaching New York City and beyond into the Atlantic.
Free Masks and Health Warnings
The city made free KN95 masks available at hundreds of locations, including libraries, police stations, and firehouses. On Thursday evening, the city's office of emergency management advised New Yorkers to avoid being outside for more than an hour. 'Listen to your body. If you have watery eyes, a scratchy throat, or difficulty breathing, reduce physical activity and go indoors,' the department posted on X.
John, a 31-year-old lifelong Queens resident with asthma, wore a mask while working security for a theater company in Times Square. His employer encouraged staff not to overexert themselves and to take breaks indoors, but 'at the end of the day, we still got to be outside,' he said. 'You can taste the burnt paper in the air.'
Heat Compounds the Smoke
The smoky air was compounded by soaring temperatures, with the heat in New York City reaching above 90°F (32.2°C). In other parts of the US, a 'heat dome' helped trap the stifling air. In Detroit, closer to the burning Canadian forests, the city registered the worst air quality in the world.
Rachel Smalter Hall, an editor at a New York book publisher with asthma, decided to meet her therapist remotely after discussing the hazardous air. 'I had noticed when I was outside that my eyes were stinging,' she said. She worried about her children, noting that 'the color of the sky changing due to pollution is becoming a more and more common thing.'
Residents Adapt to Hazardous Conditions
In Brooklyn, Jackie Bell, on maternity leave with a two-month-old girl, opted to keep her three-year-old son home from camp rather than walk 30 minutes each way through the smog. 'I'm just very grateful. I feel very privileged knowing that some people, despite the situation, might have to go outside,' said Bell, who works in healthcare.
Aaron Freedman, a graduate student studying American history, wore an N95 mask from the Covid-19 pandemic while walking to meet his mom for lunch. The smoke reminded him of California wildfires. The only time he recalled a similar situation locally was in June 2023, when another Canadian wildfire caused New York's air to become toxic and its sky to become orange. 'Growing up, this never happened. So yeah, climate change, it sucks,' said Freedman, 34.
