NYC Sees Air Quality Issues, Higher Alert for Boro Park and Midwood, As Canada Grapples With Wildfires

By Matis Glenn

Live air pollution map, June 6 (EPA)

NEW YORK – An air quality alert for parts of the tri-state area, including New York City, has been issued by the National Weather Service, according to ABC7.

Smoke from an unusually large amount of wildfires in Canada has been making its way south, affecting air quality. The NWS is advising elderly people and those who have pulmonary or heart issues to avoid being outside for prolonged periods of time and to avoid strenuous outdoor activities.

A live map from the NWS shows parts of southern Brooklyn, including Boro Park, Midwood, Kensington, and Bay Ridge as being more affected than other areas. In Queens, Jamaica and South Richmond Hills are in the same category.

Other counties under the advisory include Richmond, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland, Orange, and Putnam.

As of Tuesday, over 160 forest fires are scorching Quebec as wildfire season is underway, and at least 114 of them are deemed out of control; Canadian authorities say that this season is one of the worst on record.

Quebec has the ability to respond to approximately 30 fires at a time, according to Quebec Premier Franois Legault, who spoke at a news conference on Monday. Under normal circumstances, firefighters from other provinces would come to assist in the fires, but now, “when I talk to the premiers of other provinces, they have their hands full,” Legault said.

“The situation remains serious,” Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair said. “The images that we have seen so far this season are some of the most severe we have we have ever witnessed in Canada and the current forecast for the next few months indicates the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity.”

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