Wildfire smoke turns New York's skies an eerie orange
Smoke from Canadian wildfires blanketed the city, pushing air quality to the worst on record and casting an apocalyptic haze over the skyline.
A thick, acrid haze of wildfire smoke drifting down from Canada enveloped New York City on Wednesday, turning the sky a surreal shade of orange, obscuring the skyline and pushing air quality to the worst levels ever recorded in the city.
The sun was reduced to a dim red disc as the smoke, carried south by the winds from hundreds of wildfires burning across Canada, settled over the region. The Manhattan skyline faded into a sepia murk, and the Statue of Liberty nearly vanished from view. Air quality readings soared into the hazardous range.
Officials urged residents to stay indoors, close their windows and wear masks if they had to go outside. Schools cancelled outdoor activities, flights were delayed, and outdoor events and even some Broadway performances were called off as the city confronted a hazard it rarely faced.
For a city accustomed to many threats, the smoke was an unfamiliar and unsettling one, a visceral reminder that the effects of a warming climate and distant disasters could reach even the dense heart of the Northeast.
The haze lingered for days before winds finally cleared it, and it left a lasting impression. Scientists warned that as climate change fuels more frequent and intense wildfires, such smoke events could become a recurring feature of life in the eastern United States, and the city began to reckon with a new kind of environmental risk.