‘My eyes were stinging’: New Yorkers navigate smoky air and soaring temperatures

‘Every New Yorker should take precautions. Limit your time outdoors, especially strenuous activity,’ said mayor Zohran Mamdani. Photograph: John Angelillo/UPI/Shutterstock View image in fullscreen ‘Every New Yorker should take precautions. Limit your time outdoors, especially strenuous activity,’ said mayor Zohran Mamdani. Photograph: John Angelillo/UPI/Shutterstock ‘My eyes were stinging’: New Yorkers navigate smoky air and soaring temperatures Pollution levels in the city were elevated as smoke from Canadian wildfires drifted south across a huge swathe of the US The sun shone feebly through the thick haze. The smell of burning wood hung thick in the air. Many New Yorkers donned masks as the air quality plummeted amid health warnings. The National Weather Service issued an air-quality alert because pollution levels were elevated as smoke from raging Canadian wildfires drifted south across a huge swathe of the US, reaching all the way to New York City and even beyond out into the Atlantic. Air quality plummets in 20 US states as smoke from Canadian wildfires spreads Read more Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s mayor, urged residents to stay inside. “Every New Yorker should take precautions. Limit your time outdoors, especially strenuous activity,” Mamdani said. Mamdani pointed out that the city had made free KN95 masks available at hundreds of locations citywide, including libraries, police stations and its famous firehouses. On Thursday evening, the city’s office of emergency management encouraged New Yorkers to avoid being outside for more than an hour. “Listen to your body,” the department posted on its X social media account. “If you have watery eyes, a scratchy throat, or difficulty breathing, reduce physical activity and go indoors.” John, a 31-year-old lifelong Queens resident with asthma, wore a mask outside so he could work security for a theater company at Times Square. His employer was encouraging staff to not overexert themselves and to take breaks in the theater for some fresh air, “but at the end of the day, we still got to be outside”, he said. “You can taste the burnt paper in the air,” said John, who only wanted his first name used. Beside John, a group of women were selling Broadway tickets. “These guys handing out Playbills and stuff on the sidewalk – they are out here all day with no protections,” he said. “The march of capitalism keeps moving forward.” The smoky air was compounded by soaring temperatures. The heat in the city reached above 90F (32.2C) and in other parts of the US, a “heat dome” helped trap the stifling smoky air. In Detroit, closer to the burning Canadian forests , the Motor City registered the worst air quality in the world. Rachel Smalter Hall, an editor at a New York book publisher, received a message from her therapist Thursday morning to discuss whether they should keep their in-person appointment despite the hazardous air. Smalter Hall has asthma and said that if she doesn’t take care of it, she can “get b