Wildfire smoke and air quality updates: Northeast flights disrupted
Air quality alerts have been issued for states across the Northeast.
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:
'Hamilton' and other Broadway shows canceled over health concerns
A number of shows on Broadway were canceled over health concerns of the actors, in the wake of the wildfire smoke blanketing NYC.
"Shakespeare in the Park," which is performed outside, was canceled, as well as "Hamilton" and "Camelot."
-ABC News' Darren Reynolds
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.
Click here to learn more.
-ABC News' Ivan Pereira
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.
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.
Click here to learn more.
-ABC News' Meredith Deliso
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.