Wildfire smoke photos in NYC show ‘apocalyptic' sepia landscape
No, these photos aren't from the 1970s — they're from Tuesday and Wednesday.
New York City has been covered in a thick, hazy cloud of smoke from Canadian wildfires the past few days. Air quality alerts have been issued for the city and surrounding areas, with officials advising residents not to spend time outside if they don't have to.
Many people have been seen wearing masks while walking around, as those with heart or lung problems were encouraged to take all proper precautions.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state was making a million N95 masks — the kind prevalent at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic — available at state facilities, including 400,000 in New York City. She also urged residents to stay put.
“You don’t need to go out and take a walk. You don’t need to push the baby in the stroller,” Hochul said Wednesday night. “This is not a safe time to do that.”
And while the smoky air creates a clear health problem, even for those without any sort of complications, it also has led to eerie images as a result of the orange glow from the sun and haze. Some of the pictures are reminiscent of New York City from decades ago, when the city dealt with smog problems on a regular basis.
15 photos
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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.
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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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Lev Radin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
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.
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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.
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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.
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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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David Dee Delgado/Getty Images
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.
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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)
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Leslie Josephs | CNBC
Smoke from the Canadian wildfires blankets New York City affecting air quality on June 7th, 2023.
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Leslie Josephs/CNBC
Smoke from Canada’s wildfires blanketed New York City on Wednesday, June 7, 2023.
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Getty Images
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.
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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)
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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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Getty Images
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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Getty Images
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)
