Houston: The air quality of New York city has deteriorated as smoke from the Canadian wildfires poured into the US East Coast and Midwest, with data showing that the pollution level in the metropolitan city was highest among significant cities worldwide, even surpassing New Delhi.
Situation was such that the picturesque and renowned skyline of New York City became invisible on Wednesday behind a hazy veil of smoke from the Canadian wildfires flowing into the region.
According to IQAir, New York City had the highest levels of air pollution among significant cities worldwide on Wednesday morning, surpassing even New Delhi.
Recently in a global air quality report, India was ranked eighth on the list, with Chad, Iraq, Pakistan, Bahrain, and Bangladesh being the five most polluted countries in 2022.
The weather forecasters expect hazy weather to continue in New York through the rest of the week.
AccuWeather forecasters expect “very unhealthy” levels to continue through the rest of the week.
The air quality in New York City was listed as “unhealthy” as of Wednesday morning.
The haze across the city reduced visibility. Many weather stations in the Big Apple reported visibility of less than a mile.
A ground stop was issued at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey and LaGuardia Airport in New York City on Wednesday afternoon due to low visibility from the smoke and haze, according to the Federal aviation Administration.
In addition to New York, strong smell of smoke, dark skies and breathlessness caught the attention of residents in other cities and towns from Maryland to New Hampshire, reporting low visibility and hazy skies.
Some of the worst air quality levels were found in Delaware. Wilmington, Delaware, which is located about 24 miles southwest of Philadelphia, spiked an air quality index of 199, which is considered very unhealthy.
Photos and videos shared on social media captured the eerie glow of the sun as it rose above some of the most famous skyscrapers in the Big Apple.
The unusually poor air quality in the Northeast is “extremely rare in modern times,” according to AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter, and is like the levels of air pollution frequently observed in other parts of the world without the same air pollution standards and restrictions, including China, India, Southeast Asia, and even into South America.
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