Air quality: Noxious smoke eases over US but wildfires still major threat in Canada

Restaurants in New York City have temporarily closed down as the city faces intense air quality issues due to the smoke from the Canadian wildfires.

On Wednesday (7 June), the thick smoke enveloped the city resulting in a “hazardous” air quality index. People were encouraged to stay inside as much as possible and wear a mask when walking around outside.

“It seemed not great for our employees,” Stephanie Watanabe, co-owner of, Coast and Valley said to GrubStreet.

Watanabe said people were not interested in sitting outside and hanging out due to the dangerous air.

Several coffee shops and cafes closed in Brooklyn than usual to account for the smoke and on Thursday, they remained closed.

Other restaurants followed suit hoping to keep their employees safe on what would be a very slow service day.

A man based in Rochester, New York has showcased the “incredible” mask that his wife made for their dog, Siggi, in order to protect him from the wildfire smoke in their area.

The pet owner, Andrew White, took to Twitter on Wednesday to share a photo of his dog in the handmade mask. Speaking to The Independent, White’s wife, Emily Uhde, noted that the face covering was made out of a shower cap, a round N95 respirator, and some duct tape.

Amber Raiken reports:

As New York City faced dangerous air quality index levels on Wednesday (7 June), misinformation ran rampant on Twitter with people claiming it was safe to breathe in smoke and the wildfires were part of a “climate scam”

The hashtag “Climate Scam” began trending on Twitter with over 34,000 mentions according to the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH).

“Bad actors are exploiting a catastrophic event in real-time to flood Twitter with climate denial and anti-science propaganda,” Callum Hood, head of research at CCDH said.

“Under Elon Musk, it has become the platform of choice for a host of bad actors, many of whom have been given an algorithmic boost after purchasing ‘Twitter Blue’ accounts. Our previous work shows that accounts belonging to leading climate deniers are growing at twice the rate under Elon Musk – helped by algorithmic recommendations, and the veneer of credibility offered by paid-for blue badges,” Mr Hood added.

Wednesday was the worst wildfire-related smoke incident that the US has seen since 2006, when data began being kept, according to scientists.

Stanford climate researcher Marshall Burke and colleagues say that 61.8 million Americans in some of the country’s biggest cities were exposed to more than 50 micrograms of particulate matter per cubic meter of air, which is considered a high level.

The experts say that is twice the number that were exposed on 13 September 2020, which is the second-place event.

There were approximately 300 emergency room visits for complaints about wheezing, asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) on Wednesday according to data from the New York City Department of Health.

The number is a small increase from the average number of visits for similar complaints that occurred in the days before heavy smoke from Canadian fires engulfed the city.

Visits on Wednesday were the highest number since 23 May 2022.

There are over 400 wildfires burning throughout the provinces of Canada.

Yellowing and ashen skies smothered New York City’s skyline on Wednesday as wildfire smoke drifting from Canada sparked unhealthy air conditions across the northeastern US.

Air quality above New York had improved slightly on 7 June but rapidly deteriorated in the afternoon, reaching an air quality index of more than 400 in some parts of the city – the worst level globally – and roughly 58 times the World Health Organization’s guidelines.

Alex Woodward reports:

Hundreds of uncontrolled forest fires continue to blaze across Canada, threatening critical infrastructure, forcing evacuations and sending a blanket of smoky air wafting over Canadian and US cities.

“Across the country as of today, there are 414 wildfires burning, 239 of which are determined to be out of control,” he told a briefing. The giant eastern province of Quebec is among the worst affected.”

“We’ve ... seen continued impacts to critical infrastructure in Quebec such as roads and rural closures, telecommunication interruptions and high voltage power lines being threatened by the growing fires,” said federal minister of emergency preparedness Bill Blair.

VOICES: “Smoke from hundreds of forest fires raging in Canada blew into town this week, choking out the sun and casting an eerie sepia tone across skyscrapers and city blocks.

By mid-afternoon on Tuesday, the air quality index in parts of the city climbed beyond 400 – a level considered “hazardous”. The scale only goes up to 500, and typically the air quality index hovers around 100. As some have said, it’s like being on Mars: the sky turned orange and the sharp edges of the city blurred behind the smog.”

David Taintor writes: