Remember looking out your window and seeing orange skies all over the Bay Area? Well, New York City is going through the same thing right now -- only worse. Much worse.
Back on Sept. 9, 2020, people in the Bay stared up at an ominous orange sky due to sunlight coming through smog, wildfire smoke and ash. Fast-forward to June 6, 2023, wildfires in the eastern Canadian provinces of Quebec and Nova Scotia created the same earie sight for the East Coast.
So, how do both of these compare? Though the orange and yellow skies seemed quite sinister, the air quality in the Bay Area wasn't all that bad. Sure, it was unhealthy for sensitive groups, and it was in the middle of the COVID pandemic, but California's marine layer really saved us from having "very unhealthy," or "hazardous" air quality in the region.
Now, the East Coast doesn't have that same marine layer. So, by Wednesday, New York City's air quality had already reached the "hazardous" level. At that state, "everyone should stay indoors and reduce activity levels,” according to the U.S. government site AirNow.
On average, there's about 35 micrograms of fine particles per cubic meter of air every day in the city, according the city's website. Well, that number skyrocketed to 140-160 Tuesday morning and by 6 p.m., that number climbed to 335. On Wednesday, it peaked at 413.
At one point, NYC had the worst air quality of all the major cities in the word, according to IQAir.
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The smoke and ash began moving into the rest of the country Wednesday, alleviating residents in New York City. Still, officials advised residents stay inside and avoid breathing in the poor air.
Some rain is expected by the end of the week, making it "ideal," meteorologist say. That's expected to kick out the orange and yellow hue from the sky and ease the air quality and smoke issues in the area.
