NY returns to the streets after being the most polluted city in the world – 06/08/2023 – World

After New York City faced the worst atmospheric crisis since the 1960s on Wednesday (7), caused by smoke from dozens of wildfires in Canada, local authorities extended the air quality health alert until at least noon from Friday (9).

For 24 hours, after all, New York became the most polluted city on the planet. Perplexed residents posted photos of the city under an orange layer that radically reduced visibility and led to multiple flight cancellations at the three major local airports. Many compared the landscape to the surface of Mars.

As a result, emergency room visits to hospitals in New York’s five boroughs increased. All schools canceled outdoor recess, and several school districts in the metropolitan area suspended classes this Thursday (8).

Ten minutes after starting the monologue of Prima Facie, on Broadway, actress Jodie Comer said “I can’t breathe” and left the stage of the production. The award-winning solo production star was replaced by Dani Arlington later on Wednesday night. Two Broadway musicals, Hamilton and Camelot, suspended performances because cast members complained of breathing problems.

Two nights of the popular Shakespeare in the Park summer series, which features Hamlet in Central Park, were also cancelled.

Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams urged people to stay indoors when possible — and with windows closed. And they emphasized special care for more vulnerable groups such as the elderly, young children and people suffering from respiratory problems. It is not known how many residents are suffering from symptoms of the so-called “long Covid”, but symptoms often include lung problems.

New York City has made 400,000 N95 masks available for distribution at subway, bus and train stations. Health authorities asked that, in addition to avoiding outdoor exertion, no one left the house without a protective mask.

But a visit to Times Square late Thursday morning suggested that tourists and New Yorkers alike saw the first signs of relief from the smoke as an incentive to go outside, run, cycle and even frequent outdoor restaurants, most without mask.

A Polish tourist who identified herself only as Dora posed for photos with her one-year-old daughter and said she had spent the previous afternoon on the street with the child without a mask. “I’ve planned the trip for a long time,” she told her, making it clear that she wasn’t going to stay at the hotel.

A security guard hired by the coalition that brings together theaters, restaurants and hotels in the Times Square area and who could not be identified said that, in the worst hours of pollution on Wednesday, she saw tourists suffering asthma attacks and others leaving theaters.

The return of many to the streets, contrary to the government’s appeals, can be explained by the fact that the orange cloud had disappeared on Thursday morning. But color and visibility alone do not determine respiratory risk. Clearer air, after all, does not automatically eliminate the presence of tiny polluting particles that are absorbed by the blood, increasing the risk of various diseases.

A study by researchers at Stanford University estimated that wildfires cost Americans $125 billion annually from lost work hours.

At the construction site of a new hotel on the corner of Seventh Avenue and 47th Street in Times Square, a group of construction workers told the Sheet that at no time during the crisis of the previous day was work on the site interrupted.

The greatest discomfort, they said, affected the construction crew at the top, on the 45th floor, as the smoke cloud had a higher concentration of particles at higher altitudes.

On Wednesday afternoon, the EPA application (federal environment agency) that updates information on air quality anywhere in the country recorded more hits than Facebook.

The Air Quality Index used as a standard in the US ranges from 0 to 500, with up to 50 indicating good atmospheric conditions. New York hit a record high of 480 on Wednesday and by Thursday afternoon the index had dropped to a still unhealthy 170. The forecast for Friday is an index of 120, considered at risk for vulnerable groups.

New sports and other events marking the start of the American summer may still be cancelled. In Belmont Park, the main equestrian track in the state, east of Manhattan, an expected annual competition, scheduled for Saturday, will depend on the quality of the air and the animals must undergo veterinary examinations to be released.

Air fresheners for homes have disappeared from stores, and sites like Amazon and Walmart have extended delivery times.

A modest rain forecast for Friday brought relief among New Yorkers. But the Canadian wildfires that inspired New York’s comparisons to the planet Mars are far from an extraterrestrial event. They are likely symptoms of the climate emergency that ushers in a frightening new normality.