Could the smoke being seen in NY come to Chicago area next?
Across the eastern U.S., officials warned residents to stay inside and limit or avoid outdoor activities again Thursday, extending “Code Red” air quality alerts in some places for a third straight day
While haze has been reported across northern Illinois so far in connection with Canadian wildfires, the region has seen only a mild impact compared to those in places like New York, where the smoke has created a dystopian-style detour that's chased players from ballfields, actors from Broadway stages, delayed thousands of flights and sparked a resurgence in mask wearing and remote work — all while raising concerns about the health effects of prolonged exposure to such bad air.
Timothy A. Clary | AFP | Getty Images
People take photos of the sun in Central Park as smoke from wildfires in Canada causes hazy conditions in New York City, June 7, 2023.
Smoke shrouds the skyline of Brooklyn behind the Statue of Liberty as the sun rises in New York City on June 7, 2023, as seen from Jersey City, New Jersey. (Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
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People walk through an outdoor market in Manhattan wearing face masks, June 7, 2023. City and state authorities have urged people to wear N95 masks outdoors, as outdoor activities for students and the general public were cancelled due to air pollution swept south from Canadian wildfires.
Gary Hershorn | Corbis News | Getty Images
Heavy smoke shrouds the Chrysler Building and One Vanderbilt in a view looking northeast from the Empire State Building as the sun sets on June 6, 2023, in New York City.
Gary Hershorn | Corbis News | Getty Images
Heavy smoke fills the air shrouding Hudson Yards and the Penn District seen from the 86th floor of the Empire State Building on June 7, 2023, in New York City.
Heavy smoke fills the air shrouding the view to the northeast to One Vanderbilt and the Chrysler Building from the 86th floor of the Empire State Building on June 7, 2023, in New York City. (Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
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A person waiting for the subway wears a filtered mask as smoky haze from wildfires in Canada blankets a neighborhood on June 7, 2023 in the Bronx borough of New York City. New York topped the list of most polluted major cities in the world on Tuesday night, as smoke from the fires continues to blanket the East Coast.
People walk along the Brooklyn Promenade as a reddish haze enshrouds the Manhattan skyline as a result of Canadian wildfires on June 6, 2023 in New York City. Over 100 wildfires are burning in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia and Quebec resulting in air quality health alerts for the Adirondacks, Eastern Lake Ontario, Central New York and Western New York. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Leslie Josephs | CNBC
Smoke from the Canadian wildfires blankets New York City affecting air quality on June 7th, 2023.
Leslie Josephs/CNBC
Smoke from Canada’s wildfires blanketed New York City on Wednesday, June 7, 2023.
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The sun is shrouded as it rises in a hazy, smoky sky due to the Canadian wildfires in New York City of United States on June 7, 2023.
A general view of hazy conditions resulting from Canadian wildfires at Yankee Stadium before the game between the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees on June 7, 2023, in New York, New York. (New York Yankees/Getty Images)
Smoke continues to shroud the sun as it rises behind the skyline of Manhattan in New York City on June 7, 2023, as seen from West New York, New Jersey. (Kena Betancur/VIEWpress/Getty Images)
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A man rides amid polluted air in New York City, June 6, 2023. New York City has issued a health advisory for Tuesday as smoke from wildfires in Canada impacting the city’s air quality. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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A view of polluted air in New York City, United States on June 6, 2023. New York City has issued a health advisory for Tuesday as smoke from wildfires in Canada impacting the city’s air quality. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Across the eastern U.S., officials warned residents to stay inside and limit or avoid outdoor activities again Thursday, extending “Code Red” air quality alerts in some places for a third straight day as forecasts showed winds continuing to push smoke-filled air south.
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But could those conditions make their way to Chicago?
Air quality alerts have already been issued in parts of the region as the situation unfolded, but NBC 5 Storm Team Meteorologist Kevin Jeanes said "the worst air quality will continue to remain out east."
"While we may still have hazy skies and 'moderate' air quality from time to time, we won’t have nearly as many particulates in the air as what they’re seeing in New York," he said.
Still, air quality alerts remain in effect in all of northwest Indiana through at least Friday.
NBC Chicago’s meteorologist Alicia Roman explains to us the impacts the wildfires in Canada have had on our sunrises and sunsets.
Jeanes said a shift could be on the way, however.
"A stubborn northeast wind has brought in the wildfire smoke, but we’ll finally see a shift to a northwest wind late Saturday into Sunday as a storm system approaches," he said, "This should be enough to improve our air quality significantly Sunday. It’s also going to cool us down and likely bring rain."
