Canadian wildfire smoke prompts air quality alert amid heatwave

Smoke from wildfires burning in Canada is spreading over much of the northeast, including parts of New York City, where temperatures neared 100 degrees on Wednesday.

The haze was expected to thicken throughout the day, just as the heat worsened, with highs in the Big Apple set to hit a toasty 99 degrees by early afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.

As a result, the state Department of Environmental Conservation and Department of Health issued an Air Quality Health Advisory for New York City and Long Island that would remain in effect until at least 9 p.m. Officials have warned of “the possibility of deteriorating air quality” throughout Wednesday, though “the timing and extent of any ground-level impacts in the city remain uncertain.”

The smoky skies in the city and beyond are the result of wildfires tearing across Toronto, which have also forced dozens of communities across the area to evacuate. According to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center, there are currently 54 active fires burning across the country, the largest of them in west-central Ontario.

More worrisome than poor air quality, however, are the dangers associated with high temps in the forecast.

“This week, New Yorkers, are facing two environmental health challenges at once, extreme heat and the potential for wildfire smoke,” said NYC Health Commissioner, Dr. Alister F. Martin. “With extreme heat continuing across New York City, the safest place to be is in a cool, air-conditioned indoor space.”

New York City is under a heat advisory, as is much of the rest of the United States. NWS said that nearly 100 million people would be under either its “major” or “extreme” warning levels for dangerous heat. What’s more, the city is set to remain quite warm throughout the week before finally relenting this weekend.