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NYC’s wildfire smoke clears after second-worst event in modern record
By
Michael Sol Warren
Published Jul 19, 2026
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Gary Hershorn/Getty Images
By
Michael Sol Warren
Published Jul 19, 2026
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The haze has lifted, the campfire smell has faded and New York City can breathe a little easier.
For now.
City officials said New York has weathered its second-most severe smoke event in the city's modern record, as smoke from Canadian wildfires moved out of the region after a shift in weather patterns and Saturday’s storms. But they warned that as long as wildfires continue burning in Canada, there’s a chance heavy smoke could return.
New York spent days enveloped in smoke that sent air pollution to dangerously high levels, starting Wednesday. The event peaked at 10 p.m. Thursday, officials said, when the Air Quality Index for the region measured 289. City officials said only the June 2023 wildfire smoke event was more severe, when air quality reached hazardous levels.
The week’s smoke came as a heat wave also gripped the region. The heat broke Saturday with a wave of heavy thunderstorms, which brought flooding to the city but also helped clear much of the smoke from the air.
By Sunday morning, the region’s AQI was 78 — considered moderate air quality.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his administration on Sunday touted the city’s response to the smoke and heat. That included handing out masks, keeping nearly 600 cooling centers open and continuing outreach to vulnerable New Yorkers.
"This past week, smoke from the Canadian wildfires blanketed our city in the middle of a dangerous heat emergency. And once again, New Yorkers showed what makes this city extraordinary: we showed up for one another," Mamdani said in a statement.
Nearly 200 wildfires were still burning northwest of Thunder Bay in Ontario as of Saturday, according to provincial officials cited by New York City Emergency Management. The agency said 73 of the fires were considered out of control and roughly 1.7 million acres had burned.
The threat of smoke returning to the New York region continues as long as the fires burn and weather patterns carry smoke toward the city, officials said.
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environment
new york city
public safety
Michael Sol Warren
Michael Sol Warren covers New Jersey for WNYC and Gothamist, and previously reported on issues around the Garden State for NJ Spotlight News and NJ Advance Media. He can be reached at [email protected].
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