Wildfire smoke and air quality updates: Northeast flights disrupted

Air quality alerts have been issued for states across the Northeast.

ByIvan Pereira, Teddy Grant, and Emily Shapiro
Last Updated: June 9, 2023, 2:56 PM EDT

Hazy and dangerous fumes from ongoing wildfires in Canada have engulfed the skies over much of the East Coast, prompting serious air quality alerts in over a dozen states.

Canadian officials said firefighters are scrambling to put out the blazes. So far this wildfire season, Canada has seen more than 8.7 million acres burned -- an area larger than the state of Vermont.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news developed. All times Eastern.
Jun 07, 2023, 6:44 PM EDT

NYC air quality deteriorates to new record level: Mayor

New York City Mayor Eric Adams updated residents on the current situation with the dangerous air quality due to the Canadian wildfires.

He said the city's Air Quality Index, or AQI, hit 484, the highest level on record, on Wednesday afternoon. Anything above 300 is considered hazardous, according to Zachary Iscol, the commissioner for the city's Office of Emergency Management.

"Tomorrow things may improve but an AQI over 150 is still considered dangerous," he told reporters.

Adams said all outdoor events in the city were canceled Thursday and urged private groups to do the same.

A person wears a face mask as smoke from Canadian wildfires blankets New York, June 7, 2023.
David Dee Delgado/Getty Images

"The best thing is that [people] remain indoors," the mayor said.

He reiterated advisories to close windows and to wear a mask if anyone has to travel outside.

Schools were already planned to be closed Thursday, and no decision has been made about the rest of the week, according to the mayor.

Adams said the current forecast shows the situation should improve at the end of the week but warned that the situation can change.

"It is difficult to predict the movement of the smoke," he said.

Jun 07, 2023, 6:31 PM EDT

New York to distribute 1 million N95 masks Thursday, governor says

One million N95 masks will be made available for people at state sites in New York on Thursday, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Wednesday.

Officials will distribute 400,000 masks at MTA stations, the Port Authority Bus Terminal, state parks and the Javits Center, Hochul said.

Approximately 600,000 masks will be available from NYS Div. of Homeland Security & Emergency Services, the governor said.

Hochul has urged New Yorkers to stay inside due to smoke from the Canadian wildfires.

Jun 07, 2023, 4:35 PM EDT

MLB games postponed in NYC, Philadelphia

The MLB has postponed Wednesday night's games between the White Sox and the Yankees, set to take place in New York City, and between the Tigers and Phillies, set for Philadelphia.

The Phillies-Tigers game was moved to Thursday and the Yankees and White Sox will play a doubleheader on Thursday.

The WNBA said Wednesday night's game between the Minnesota Lynx and New York Liberty, which was to take place in New York City, has been postponed due to the air quality.

Jun 07, 2023, 4:13 PM EDT

The forecast

More smoke is expected in the Northeast for the next few days.

Traffic moves along West Street past One World Trade Center, June 7, 2023, in New York, amidst smokey haze from wildfires in Canada.
Andy Bao/AP

A woman jogs with a dog along the Hudson River shortly after sunrise, as haze and smoke caused by wildfires in Canada hang over the Manhattan skyline, in New York City, June 7, 2023.
Mike Segar/Reuters

The thickest smoke will drift south Wednesday afternoon and is forecast to envelop Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., Wednesday night and Thursday. These cities may see AQI levels reach the most severe “hazardous” level over the next 24 hours.

On Thursday afternoon, another round of smoke is expected to move over Lake Superior and into Cleveland, Ohio; Erie, Pennsylvania; and Buffalo, New York.

-ABC News' Dan Amarante

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