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Smoke from Canadian wildfires affecting NYC air
Recent wildfires in Canada have raised concerns about air quality in NYC. FOX 5 NY's Audrey Puente tells us everything we need to know.
NEW YORK CITY - Smoke from a series of wildfires burning across central Canada has prompted officials to issue an air quality alert for Wednesday and Thursday for the New York City area.
JUMP TO: AIR QUALITY MAP l HEALTH IMPACTS l WHO SHOULD BE CAREFUL?
According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the alert runs from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Wildfire smoke above Highway 97, north of the Buckinghorse River near Trutch, British Columbia, Canada, on Friday, May 30, 2025. Wildfires are threatening about 5% of Canada's crude output as a blaze in Alberta's oil sands region spreads and approach …
Why is there an air quality alert?
"High levels of ozone," FOX 5 NY’s Mike Woods said. "So if you are sensitive to that, you definitely want to take it easy in the peak of the heat."
Air quality near me
This map from AirNow.gov shows the current air quality in the New York City area.
Click HERE if you're having trouble viewing the embedded map.
What do the numbers mean?
The numbers show how clean or polluted the air is and stands as a guideline for outdoor activities that day, especially for sensitive groups.
- 0-50: Good, with little to no risk of pollution.
- 51-100: Moderate and really is not a risk to anyone unless they're unusually sensitive to poor air quality. The national weather service will often still issue an air quality alert when we're in this range.
- 101-150: This is a risk for sensitive groups and people with asthma.
- 151-200: A risk for everyone and people who are sensitive are at risk for more severe complications.
- 201-300: Very unhealthy and a risk for everyone.
- 301+: Emergency conditions.
Air quality index NYC
For today's air quality index forecast for New York state, click HERE.
To check the air quality in your area, click HERE.
Wildfire smoke map
Click HERE for more information.
Today's weather NYC
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NYC weather forecast
FOX 5 NY's Mike Woods has the details.
How does wildfire smoke impact your health?
Why you should care:
Wildfire smoke is a complex mixture of gases, particles and water vapor that contains multiple pollutants that can get into the lungs and bloodstream.
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Wildfires cause 'unhealthy' NYC air quality
Canada is dealing with a series of intense wildfires that have spread from the western provinces to Quebec, with hundreds of forest fires burning. The smoke has traveled into the United States, resulting in a number of air quality alerts issued since May.
There is no evidence of a safe level of exposure to some of the pollutants, meaning that smoke can impact your health even at very low levels. Inhaling smoke from wildfires can cause headaches, sore and watery eyes, nose, throat, and sinus irritation, chest pains, heart palpitations and more.
Who should be careful?
What you can do:
Exposure to elevated fine particle pollution levels can affect the lungs and heart.
The air quality alerts caution "sensitive groups," a big category that includes children, older adults, and people with lung diseases, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
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Canada wildfires bringing smoke to the Tri-State area
FOX 5 NY meteorologist Audrey Puente gives the latest on the current Canadian wildfires, and how the smoke could reach New York City.
Kids, who often are encouraged to go out and play, "are more susceptible to smoke for a number of reasons," said Laura Kate Bender, the lung association's National Assistant Vice President, healthy air. "Their lungs are still developing, they breathe in more air per unit of body weight."
No one is immune.
2023: Canadian wildfire smoke pours into Northeast
Back in June 2023, winds blew smoke from unchecked Canadian wildfires into the region, which led the Department of Environmental Conservation to issue an Air Quality Health Advisory for all five boroughs.
According to IQAir.com, New York City had the world's worst air quality of any major city in the world back on June 7, 2023, with an AQI rating over 350, more than twice as high as Dubai.
FOX Weather live updates
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