Smoke blankets the skyline of Lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center as the sun rises in New York City, seen from Jersey City, New Jersey, on June 30, 2023.
Gary Hershorn | Corbis News | Getty Images
Four of the world’s five cities with the worst air quality are in North America, including New York, where smoke has blanketed the continent based on the fallout from devastating wildfires across Canada. IQ air.
New York City currently ranks second in the world in terms of air quality, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 162, second only to Jakarta.
Toronto and Montreal ranked third and fourth, with AQI scores of 155 and 153, respectively.
Anything above 150 is considered “unhealthy” air.
The fifth-ranked city is Washington, D.C., hundreds of miles from where wildfires continue to rage across Canada. The air quality there is slightly better than the other three North American cities on the list, with an AQI of 122. The figure is considered “unhealthy for sensitive groups”.
Wildfires in Canada have been burning for weeks, with record heat and drought fueled by climate change creating conditions ripe for longer-lasting, intense wildfire activity, Research Already indicated.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul warned citizens that potentially hazardous air quality reflected stark distinctions among the state’s residents. “This is not something that we’re talking about for future generations to deal with,” Hochl said at a news conference earlier this week. “We’re really the first generation to feel the real effects of climate change.”
CNBC’s Cat Clifford contributed to this report.