Sweltering NYC hit by Canadian wildfire smoke — and it may only get hazier

It’s going to get hazier before it gets better.

The Big Apple is under an Air Quality Health Advisory as the Canadian and Great Lake wildfire smoke slowly takes over our skies.

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The air pollution reached “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” levels of air quality around 11 a.m., and is expected to remain so until around 11 p.m., according to the city’s Office of Emergency Management.

The visible smoke from the fires has been traveling through the Empire State, turning the bright blue skies into a pale haze.

That means the Air Quality Index (API) will hover between 101 and 150 on Wednesday — a far cry away from the harrowing 465 “Hazardous” peak that turned the metro skies orange during the June 2023 Canadian wildfires.

However, this year’s smoke event coincides with an onoging heat wave, with temperatures expected to near 100 degrees throughout the Big Apple Wednesday.

The city also issued a heat advisory and activated its heat emergency plan — however, if the smoke continues to grow thicker, it could bring down temperatures by blocking the sun’s intense rays.

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The NYCEM warned that any ground-level impacts are still uncertain, but that the air quality could trigger health issues, especially those suffering from lung diseases such as asthma.

“Every New Yorker has a different risk profile, and this week you need to know yours,” NYC Emergency Management Commissioner Christina Farrell said Tuesday. “If you’re sensitive to air quality, don’t remain in a space without air conditioning or filtration.”

“And if you’re in a population vulnerable to heat, older adults, young children, people with chronic conditions, take the heat seriously too,” Farrell added. “In both cases, you should get to a cool indoor space, and if you don’t have one at home, a cooling center is open near you.”

So far, at least 17 wildfires have eaten thousands of acres across Minnesota –– the five largest of which have consumed at least 30,000 acres, officials said.

Canada is suffering its own swath of fires after two of the largest US flames — the Bear Trap and Thumb fires — jumped the border.

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