Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Smoke-filled skies are new normal for NYC summers, experts warn
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Jul 17, 2026
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Jul 17, 2026
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Smoke-filled summer skies are a new normal for New York City, and experts say it's likely to worsen.
When Canadian wildfire smoke blanketed the city with a haze thick enough to obscure the sun this week, the sight was familiar to New Yorkers. This is the fourth consecutive year wildfires have triggered air quality alerts in the city, according to the governor’s office.
The problem grew apparent in June 2023, when smoke from Canadian wildfires turned the city’s skies orange. The city’s air quality index hit of 484, the highest ever recorded and just shy of the scale’s max of 500. Such high levels of air pollution can severely impact vulnerable people like the elderly, triggering asthma attacks and increasing the risk of strokes and heart attacks. Even healthy, physically fit adults struggle to breathe.
While this week’s smoke didn’t break records, experts said New Yorkers should expect more smokey days as climate change causes more frequent and severe wildfires.
“Warmer weather and drier weather results in a tinderbox really waiting for a single spark to set it,” said Robbie Parks, assistant professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University. “We expect an increase in prevalence as climate change creates warmer weather and drier conditions in some parts of North America.”
The United Nations Panel on Climate Change predicts increasingly hotter temperatures worldwide, which sets up wildfires to be not only more frequent, but larger and harder to put-out.
The city's air quality reached dangerous levels this week.
Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images
The fires also create a lethal cycle. The blazes release a massive amount of carbon emissions. The increased carbon emissions, in turn, exacerbate climate change, further warming the planet and causing frequent, larger and more intense fires.
A 2024 study published in the journal Nature found fires in Canada from May to September of 2023 emitted more carbon dioxide than a majority of the countries on earth do in a year.
The Canadian government on Friday reported about 900 active fires across the country, 127 of them listed as out of control. The Canadians have reported a total of 3,137 fires so far this year, already exceeding the number reported in all of 2025.
Canadian authorities predict this year’s wildfire season could worsen. Forecasts in the region point to hotter-than-average temperatures through August, which sets the stage for more frequent blazes. As of mid-July, Indigenous Services Canada reported 1,600 First Nations residents had been evacuated from their lands due to the fires.
The smokey air becomes even more dangerous when coupled with a heat wave. Parks said that breathing in the smoke is basically inhaling poison, which can cause asthma attacks and strain the body’s cardiovascular system. High temperatures add additional stress to the body.
“If it's hotter but then there's also wildfire smoke, there's an issue of your heart being under strain already, but then also the wildfire can trigger worse attacks of things because your body is already under increased pressure,” Parks said.
Physically fit adults are vulnerable to the smokey air, too, and can experience heaviness in their chest, fatigue, headaches and irritation of the nose, eyes and throat.
“Even just going outside for a few minutes can potentially impact health,” Parks said. “Even healthy people have got things to worry about there.”
Parks said the real solution to smokey days is addressing the root causes of climate change. Short of that, the city health department recommends staying indoors with the doors and windows while using air filters. The department also advises New Yorkers to limit their time outdoors while the air quality is poor and wear KN95 masks when they leave the house.
“I'm walking around the city and lots of people are wearing masks,” Parks said. “When it cascades to the health impacts, it depends on who is exposed and who is vulnerable and the resilience methods people are following.”
While there are no solid predictions as to when the smoke will leave the city, rains are expected this weekend, which could help rid the air of smoke.
Tagged
Health and Science
environment
new york city
Rosemary Misdary
Rosemary is health & science reporter. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 646-544-9524.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Family of teen killed by runaway Central Park horse carriage plans to sue city
Romanch Mahajan's father, Deepak, addressed a crowd at the park via phone from India on Monday and said his son "sacrificed his life for animals."
By
Liam Quigley
Published Jul 27, 2026 at 3:52 p.m. ET
NYPD says officers seized 16 guns in the Bronx after 12-year-old's fatal shooting
Police say officers recovered 16 firearms, including an assault-style rifle, and made 16 gun arrests in the same precinct where a 12-year-old boy was fatally shot a day earlier.
By
Catalina Gonella
News
NYPD says officers seized 16 guns in the Bronx after 12-year-old's fatal shooting
Police say officers recovered 16 firearms, including an assault-style rifle, and made 16 gun arrests in the same precinct where a 12-year-old boy was fatally shot a day earlier.
By
Catalina Gonella
¡Oy vey, qué malo! Yo La Tengo Hanukkah show tickets snatched up by scalpers
By
Walter Wuthmann
Officials identify UES cooling towers that had living Legionella bacteria before outbreak
By
Joe Hong
Mamdani’s city-run grocery stores to offer 30% price cuts on meat, produce
By
Karen Yi
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .