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Apocalyptic scenery in New York City: the metropolis is shrouded in an orange, foggy veil. New York's famous boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx sank into thick smoke on Wednesday. And other cities on the U.S. East Coast are also affected.
The reason for this is that severe forest fires have been blazing for weeks in Canada, and around 3.8 million hectares of forest have already burned down. Winds now carried the smoke particles over hundreds of kilometers south into the United States.
This causes poor visibility and unhealthy air: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued increased warning levels for more than 100 million people in the states due to poor air quality. For those affected, the warning level orange applies, in some parts even warning level red.
In New York, there was a burnt smell in the air, palpable in the throat and eyes, and a headache.
Jack Caravanos, health expert:
"I advised people to stay indoors if possible. Although the outside air will eventually find its way inside, the concentration will be lower. Now is not the time to play tennis, jog or prepare for a marathon. Take care of your lungs. Don't do anything that requires deep, heavy breathing, walk rather than cycle if you can, to take it slowly."
Manhattan's borough mayor said air quality is "now more than twice as high as the highest level of health hazard" officially available. The governor of the state of New York spoke of an "emergency crisis" and announced that she wanted to distribute one million mouth-nose masks. The state of emergency could last for several more days.