NYC air quality today: Live map as Canadian wildfires could soon invade Tri-State area
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.
NEW YORK CITY - Smoke from a series of wildfires burning across central Canada could reach New York City on Tuesday after invading other parts of the United States over the past several days.
JUMP TO: AIR QUALITY MAP l HEALTH IMPACTS l WHO SHOULD BE CAREFUL?
The smoke from the wildfires is primarily aloft, resulting in a milky sky and vivid sunrises and sunsets. Air quality levels remain mostly in the moderate range, posing health risks to mainly those with respiratory ailments.
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
The smoke plume is expected to move east into the region, and hazy conditions are anticipated. With few signs that the blazes will subside anytime soon, here's what you need to know this week about wildfires and their impact on you.
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.
Wildfire smoke map
Click HERE for more information.
Weather in NYC today
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.
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.
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.