New York will be rolling out phone alerts to remind residents to take precautions amid the poor air quality, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Thursday.
The Air Quality Index is currently in the "unhealthy" category in Rochester and Buffalo.
"The truth is, there is no end in sight," Hochul said at news conference, noting the conditions could linger off and on through the summer. "This is the new normal for New Yorkers."
Phone alerts will be sent in areas where the Air Quality Index is above 200 for one hour or longer. Announcements will also be made on mass transit, where hundreds of thousands of masks will be handed out.
Hochul said it is too early to know about the air quality over the July 4 holiday.
“We don't know what is going to happen beyond the next couple days -- today will be very bad, tomorrow will be very bad. We expect to see the winds start to dissipate over the next couple days. It is impossible for us at this point to predict the holiday celebrations," she said.
Jackie Bray, commissioner of New York's Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, added that it's "totally appropriate to keep the pools open today, totally appropriate for people to be out, as long as they don't fall into these sensitive groups."
-ABC News' Aaron Katersky