Empire State Building New York
Photograph ©2015 by Brian Cohen.
Brian Cohen·
News and Weather
··2 min read

Smoke From Wildfires Affects Travel: June 2023 Travel Alert

Scenes from affected areas seem apocalyptic and dystopian.

Smoke from wildfires affects travel June 2023 in the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada, which has prompted the quality of air to significantly degrade for approximately 57 million people; and has created scenes in affected areas which seem apocalyptic and dystopian.

Smoke From Wildfires Affects Travel: June 2023 Travel Alert

The following statement is currently posted at the official Twitter account of the New York office of the National Weather Service of the United States — along with a video to demonstrate the increasingly poor air quality:

Check out this almost unbelievable time-lapse of wildfire smoke consuming the World Trade Center and the New York City skyline.

Those vulnerable to poor air quality, including seniors and young children, should limit time outdoors if possible.

 

The air quality was so bad in the city of New York that it qualified as the city with the worst air quality in the world earlier today, Wednesday, June 7, 2023 with an air quality index measuring 304 and possibly as high as 342. The most extreme rating on the Air Quality Index scale in the United States is considered to be hazardous, which means that “everyone may experience more serious health effects” and that “everyone should avoid all outdoor exertion”.

Breathing the polluted air for several hours in the city of New York and other areas of the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada can result in the equivalent of smoking as many as ten cigarettes. Cough.

Other cities in the northeastern United States also experienced spikes in their air quality indices, which is a result of the thick smoke that drifted down from Canada as the result of a record number of wildfires. Greater than 150 wildfires are currently burning out of control over almost 1.2 million acres in the south-central part of the province of Québec — many of which were ignited by lightning almost one week ago after an unusually dry and warm spell in May and have since surpassed the record of approximately 865,000 acres which were burned there in 1991.

Wildfires have also been burning out of control in Nova Scotia; and British Columbia and Alberta have also been dealing with wildfires.

People have been posting their observations, photographs, videos, and thoughts on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/Emme0703/status/1666519580594806787

Flight Waivers, Delays and Cancellations

If you are traveling to or from the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada over the next week or so, expect delays and cancellations of flights — and airports may temporarily close as well. Keep up to date on the latest information pertaining to this phenomenon which may adversely affect your travel plans. Better yet, postponing or canceling your trip might be a better option — no matter which mode of travel you plan on taking.

If you have a flight scheduled, your flight may be delayed or canceled — and you may be eligible for a waiver of a fee to change your itinerary.

Ground stops had been issued for both LaGuardia Airport and Newark Airport earlier today before they were lifted; but hundreds of delays are still occurring and dozens of flights had been canceled.

Interestingly, no airlines have issued travel alerts as a result of the thick smoke which has affected airplane travel at the time this article was written — but the current National Airspace System Status of the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States shows the latest active airport events.

Final Boarding Call

Be sure to contact your airline or transportation provider for the latest information pertaining to your travels — if they are adversely affected — and please: travel safely…

…and hopefully the air will be safe to breath in the affected areas of both the United States and Canada as soon as possible — but that is not expected to happen for several days…

Photograph ©2015 by Brian Cohen.

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