Smoke from raging wildfires in the western US and Canada drifted thousands of miles east — leaving a thick layer of haze over the Big Apple that made the sun glow with a red-orange hue.
The smoky conditions in New York City also led to harmful air quality.
On Wednesday morning, the air quality index climbed to 157 in Manhattan — higher than the threshold of 100 that triggers health concerns, according to climate data nonprofit Berkeley Health.
Vulnerable people, including pregnant women and the elderly, are warned that they may experience breathing difficulty, throat irritation and runny eyes when exposed to the air.
Footage showed the sun appear as if it were red-orange on Tuesday evening due to the conditions.
The weather conditions come after at least 83 wildfires have torn through 13 states in the West, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
“We’re seeing lots of fires producing a tremendous amount of smoke, and … by the time that smoke gets to the eastern portion of the country where it’s usually thinned out, there’s just so much smoke in the atmosphere from all these fires that it’s still pretty thick,” David Lawrence, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, told USA Today.
People sit along the East River as smoke from raging wildfires in the western US reached the East Coast. Craig Ruttle/Redux
Jet skiers in the East River under hazy skies. Craig Ruttle/Redux
The Sun behind the Empire State Building seen through haze as smoke from wildfires reaches the East Coast. Craig Ruttle/Redux