Canada wildfire smoke consumes New Jersey and New York City. The FAA grounded flights to New York’s LaGuardia Airport and Philadelphia International Airport|Anthony Quintano|CC BY 2.0
Cities across the country trapped under a plume of orange smog will soon get a reprieve as the Canadian wildfires have improved and the storm system that sent incendiary clouds of smoke in the US was moving on.
In Quebec, the area covered by smoke is just 7% compared to last week. But hundreds of fires still continue to burn in Canada. It is also just the beginning of the Canadian fire season, so more blazes could flare up.
Here are more updates
- Residents in cities like Philadelphia, Washington, DC, Chicago and Boston were advised to stay indoors due to ongoing unfavorable weather conditions.
- Flights have been grounded and delayed due to reduced visibility. Over 1,000 flights were delayed by Friday mid-morning, per FlightAware. Flights to New York’s LaGuardia Airport and Philadelphia International Airport were grounded by the FAA.
- Friday was declared a remote-instruction day for over 1 million New York City public school students.
- Parks and playgrounds in Washington, DC are closed, and authorities in the Northeast have advised residents to stay indoors and limit outdoor activities, extending "Code Red" alerts for a third consecutive day.