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, 8:14 PM EDT

New York City's 'smoke wave' response time for warnings criticized

As New York City was bombarded with dangerous air and smoke that turned the skyline orange, some residents and environmental experts questioned if the city's leader acted quickly enough to warn people about the dangers of the "smoke wave."

The city's Office of Emergency Management issued warnings on its social media pages and city alert system starting Tuesday afternoon and Mayor Eric Adams put out a news release about the dangerous air quality around 11:30 p.m.

Some environmentalists said the late notice was unacceptable given that the city's environment was already showing poor visibility and unhealthy air earlier in the morning.

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-ABC News' Ivan Pereira

Jun 07, 2023, 7:51 PM EDT

See the before and after images of NYC covered in wildfire smoke

Photos show the stark differences of the New York City skyline due to the wildfire smoke.

The Chrysler building is shown in New York on Feb. 18, 2023, and on June 7, 2023.
Gary Hershorn/ABC News

The New York skyline is shown on March 19, 2023, and on June 7, 2023.
Gary Hershorn/ABC News

The Staten Island Ferry goes past the Statue of Liberty in New York on May 21, 2017, and on June 6, 2023.
Gary Hershorn/Getty Images | Amr Alfiky/Reuters

Jun 07, 2023, 7:21 PM EDT

When to expect air quality to improve in the US amid Canadian wildfires

The wind conditions that are bringing plumes of smoke south are expected to last for several more days, experts say, as some fires in Canada continue to burn out of control.

The smoke is primarily from several wildfires burning in Quebec that is being blown south in a narrow band by an intense storm system around Nova Scotia that has not moved in several days, according to Mark Wysocki, an air pollution meteorologist who teaches at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.

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-ABC News' Meredith Deliso

Jun 07, 2023, 7:01 PM EDT

What to know about the Air Quality Index from wildfire smoke and how it affects human health

Wildfire smoke contains fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5, which are microscopic solid or liquid droplets -- often 30 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair -- that can be inhaled and cause serious health problems, according to the EPA.

PM2.5 is considered unhealthy for "Code Orange" and sensitive groups once the Air Quality Index surpasses 100, according to AirNow, a website that publishes air quality data. Once the AQI surpasses 150, it is considered "Code Red," unhealthy for some members of the general public who may experience health effects, with sensitive groups experiencing more severe effects.

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-ABC News' Julia Jacobo

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