“We cannot provide guidance more than a day in advance at this point.”

“Smoke predictability that far out is low,” he said. New York City Mayor Eric Adams said that at 5 p.m., the AQI had hit 484, “the highest level index of our knowledge since the ‘60s.” The air quality index in New York continued to deteriorate as the day went on, soaring from below 200 to above 400 by late afternoon, according to, which offers real-time tracking of AQI. 1 for the worst air quality on the planet for the second straight day, ahead of global cities such as New Delhi, where such conditions are more common. Tens of millions of Americans were under air quality alerts, stretching from parts of western Missouri to New York, from Maine to South Carolina, where particulate levels were expected to enter unhealthful territory and many residents experienced the scratchy throats and irritated eyes and lungs that wildfire smoke can cause.īy afternoon, the IQAir World Air Quality Index ranked New York City No. West Coasters who have long lived with the danger of wildfires offered some words of wisdom to their East Coast counterparts Wednesday, as residents along the Eastern seaboard faced another dizzying day of hazy skies amid smoke and air pollution from wildfires burning in Canada. Just because you can’t see the threat doesn’t mean it’s not there. Download smartphone apps to monitor the air quality index.

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