New York's air quality improves in time for Governors Ball Festival

On Wednesday, the megacity of more than 8 million inhabitants suffocated in fog and air made unbreathable and dangerous by the smoke of forest fires in the Canadian province of Quebec.

Several sports games, such as a Yankees baseball game against the Red Sox, had been postponed. But with the beginning of improvement Thursday, organizers were able to announce the continuation of the festival, much to the relief of Simrya Anand, who came from Boston.

American DJ Diplo makes the crowd dance at New York's Governors Ball music festival, at Corona Park, on June 9, 2023 © ANGELA WEISS / AFP

"I was really worried because of the weather," the 20-year-old told AFP. "I thought I could wear a mask, but luckily it looks like things have cleared up."

"I couldn't imagine not coming," she adds with a smile.

In New York, the AirNow air quality index fell below 50 on a scale of up to 500 on Friday, after exceeding 400 on Wednesday.

The crowd dances to the electro music of American DJ Diplo at the Governors Ball music festival in New York, at Corona Park, June 9, 2023 © ANGELA WEISS / AFP

Enough to allow DJ Diplo to launch the party in the green Corona Park of Queens.

Hamza Hussein, 25, who just finished graduate school at New York University, is looking forward to attending his first "Gov Ball," especially to see famed rapper Pusha T. With his friend, they worried that the air could be "toxic", but "we predicted that it would still take place because it is really difficult to reschedule all these artists".

A relief also for Andy and Bonnie Goolcharan, a couple in their fifties from New York.

New York City covered in thick fog on June 7, 2023 due to smoke from Canada's © fires ANGELA WEISS / AFP/Archives

"We were ready not to come. We thought it would be cancelled, but it worked out," Andy explains.

More than 60 artists will follow one another for three days, with Friday Kim Petras, Haim, Lil Uzi Vert, and Lizzo to close the evening. Other stars expected over the weekend include electro duo Odesza, and rappers Lil Nas X and Kendrick Lamar.

© 2023 AFP