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.
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'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.
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-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.
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-ABC News' Meredith Deliso
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