Flights at La Guardia, Newark and Philadelphia airports have been grounded as smoke from Canada’s wildfires continues to batter the Northeast.
More than 1,000 flights across the United States were delayed Thursday morning, with the number expected to rise after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered East Coast airports to suspend operations due to poor visibility.
New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia suffer from air quality worse than that of the world’s most polluted cities such as Lahore (Pakistan) and Delhi (India).
School districts in New Jersey and New York announced closures or updated schedules, while several states, including Pennsylvania – which has become the new epicenter – issued “Code Red” recommendations for residents to stay indoors.
A map of the impact of wildfire smoke on east coast air quality. Purple areas are considered “dangerous”, red is “unhealthy”, orange is “unhealthy for sensitive groups” and yellow is “moderate”.
NYC: The Manhattan skyline is seen at sunrise amid the hazy conditions caused by smoke from the Canadian wildfires on June 8, 2023
The hazardous air created new travel concerns as the FAA warned travelers that delays were likely to occur in several East Coast cities.
“Restricted visibility from wildfire smoke will continue to affect air travel today.” “We will likely need to take action to safely manage traffic flow to New York City, DC, Philadelphia and Charlotte,” the federal agency tweeted on early Thursday.
As dangerous smog continues to choke the east coast, here are the latest developments.
- The FAA has suspended flights to Philadelphia, Newark and LaGuardia airports
- Broadway star Jodie Comer had to cancel her matinee because she had trouble breathing on stage
- School districts across the East Coast are halting outdoor activities and changing class schedules to avoid exposure
- US President Joe Biden has pledged to send over 1,000 firefighters and personnel to help fight the blazes
- Belmont Park canceled horse racing on Thursday, just days before the weekend’s Belmont Stakes race is scheduled to take place
- New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced plans to distribute one million N95 masks to residents
- The cause of the wildfires has been attributed to unusually warm temperatures, but some also point to poor forest management
WASHINGTON, DC: Members of the Marine Corps Honor Guard rehearse as the sun rises over a thick layer of smoke, Thursday, June 8, 2023
VIRGINIA: Misty smog rises over the United States Marine Corps War Memorial at sunrise, Thursday, June 8, 2023
WASHINGTON, DC: A jogger trots along the Reflecting Pool on Thursday as the sun rises over the Washington Memorial and a thick layer of smoke billows
WASHINGTON, DC: Marine Corps members practice under a hazy sky near the Lincoln Memorial
Winsor Township — about 70 miles west of Philadelphia — is the hardest-hit area in the country, with a particulate matter (PM2.5) level of 457. That dwarfs Delhi’s notoriously bad air score of 316.
Hundreds of wildfires have burned 9.4 million hectares of land in Canada and displaced 120,000 people from their homes – an unusually early and intense start to the wildfire season.
And with the weather unlikely to change much, the smoky blanket rising from Quebec and Nova Scotia and sending particulate matter clouds to North Carolina and northern Europe is likely to last through Thursday and possibly the weekend.
That means at least another day, if not more, of a dystopian detour that’s chasing players off ballcourts and actors off Broadway stages, delaying thousands of flights, and sparking a resurgence in mask-wearing and remote work — all while simultaneously Concerns have been raised about the health effects of prolonged exposure to such poor air quality.
The weather system that’s fueling the Great Canada-US Smoke — a low-pressure system over Maine and Nova Scotia — “is likely to persist for at least the next few days,” said U.S. National Weather Service meteorologist Bryan Ramsey.
“Conditions are likely to remain unhealthy, at least until the wind direction changes or the fires are extinguished,” Ramsey said. “As the fires are raging – they’re really big – they’re probably going to continue for weeks.” But really it’s all about the wind shift.’
NYC: Manhattan is shrouded in smoke for the second straight day as Canadian wildfires continue to wreak havoc on the east coast
A Southwest aircraft approaches LaGuardia Airport in New York on Wednesday, June 7, 2023. The airport was hit with delays on the second day due to the smoke from the forest fire
NYC: A jogger braves New York’s poor air quality as the sun rises over One World Trade Center on Thursday morning
WASHINGTON, DC: Two young graduates pose on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial as the city’s landmarks are engulfed in smoke
When the smoke first descended on Wednesday, it caused severe disruption, canceling sporting events across the region and shutting down the lives of millions.
Across the eastern US, officials on Thursday warned residents to stay indoors and limit or avoid outdoor activities, and in some locations extended “Code Red” air quality warnings for a third straight day as forecasts showed the winds would continue drive smoky air south.
The smoke has been moving over Greenland and Iceland since June 1 and was expected to reach Norway on Thursday, the Norwegian Climate and Environmental Research Institute said, but was not expected to pose a health risk.
In Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser on Thursday ordered schools to cancel outdoor breaks, sporting events and field trips. Officials set up an emergency shelter in a suburb of Philadelphia so people living outside can take refuge from the haze.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state is making one million N95 masks – the kind that was prevalent at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic – available at state facilities, including 400,000 in New York City. She also urged residents to stay put.
“You don’t have to go out and go for a walk.” “You don’t have to push the baby in the stroller,” Hochul said Wednesday night. “This is not a safe time to do that.”
NEW YORK: A horse at Belmont Park in Elmont, where all practice and races were canceled Thursday due to poor air quality
NYC: The Brooklyn Bridge is seen at dusk in hazy weather early Thursday morning
The message might get through. Officials said Wednesday that New York City has yet to see a spike in 911 calls related to respiratory illnesses and cardiac arrests.
More than 400 fires across Canada have displaced 20,000 people. The US has sent more than 600 firefighters and equipment to Canada. Other countries are also helping.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke to President Joe Biden by phone on Wednesday. Trudeau’s office said he thanked Biden for his support and that both leaders “recognized the need to work together to address the devastating effects of climate change.”
Canadian officials expect this to be the worst wildfire season in the country on record. It started early on drier than usual ground and accelerated quickly. Smoke from the blazes has been spreading across the United States for the last month, but has been intensified by recent fires in Quebec, where about 100 were believed to be out of control as of Wednesday.
“I can taste the air,” said Dr. Ken Sstocking in a Facebook post from Syracuse, New York, where the sky took on the local university’s colorful nickname: Orange.
The smoke was so thick in Canada’s capital, Ottawa, that office towers across the Ottawa River could barely be seen. In Toronto, Yili Ma said her hiking group has canceled a planned hike for this week and is forgoing the restaurant terraces, a popular summer tradition in a country known for its harsh winters.
“I put my mask away for over a year, and now I’ve been putting it on since yesterday,” Ma lamented.
WASHINGTON, DC: The White House is hidden behind a layer of hazy smoke on Thursday
Hazy fog hung over the Manhattan skyline again on Thursday
WASHINGTON, DC: Smoke from Canada’s wildfires casts a haze in front of the Lincoln Memorial at sunrise Thursday
There was some rain in eastern Quebec on Wednesday, but Montreal-based meteorologist Simon Legault of Environment Canada said no significant rain was expected for days in remote areas of central Quebec where wildfires are more intense.
In the US, federal officials on Wednesday disrupted some flights into New York’s LaGuardia Airport and slowed planes bound for Newark and Philadelphia because smoke reduced visibility.
Major League Baseball Yankees and Phillies games have been postponed. On Broadway, “Hamilton” and “Camelot” canceled their Wednesday performances, and “Prima Facie” star Jodie Comer walked out of a matinee after 10 minutes with trouble breathing. The show restarted with an understudy, show publicists said.
It wasn’t supposed to take place on the outdoor stage in Central Park either. Shakespeare in the Park has canceled its Thursday and Friday performances of Hamlet, saying it is no nobler in spirit to suffer the slingshots and darts of the bad air.