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Experts on NYC's future air quality
The thick, choking smoke hanging around New York City this week has many people wondering if things like this could be our new normal. FOX 5 New York's Sharon Crowley spoke with experts to find out if more air quality alerts will be in our future.
Smoke blown from the out-of-control wildfires in Canada is still smothering New York City.
The haze is choking the tri-state area and scientists say it is very unusual.
"We're in the midst of a remarkable episode air quality has never been worse in the New York metropolitan area, and we owe it all to wildfires," said Dr. David Robinson, New Jersey state's climatologist.
RELATED: Amid smoke and haze, life goes on for New Yorkers
Despite what people are seeing now when you look up, Robinson doesn't think New Yorkers have to get used to dealing with smoke-filled skies.
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Health concerns from wildfire smoke in NYC
Headaches, burning eyes and asthma attacks are just come of the very real health concerns that can be caused by the wildfire smoke from Canada that has enveloped New York City. FOX 5 New York's Linda Schmidt looks at the health impact the wildfire smoke in New York City is having.
"This isn't a new normal. Just one event doesn't dictate what's going to happen in the future. It could become more common but even that's uncertain. When you get something this unusual, you have to wait some time to determine whether it's going to become more common or not, because this is a highly unusual situation for the New York metropolitan area," he said.
"It's particularly thick around New York City because the winds happen to pick up smoke from one fire and then smoke for another fire is sort of accumulated in this bunch of air that then made it all the way down to New York City," said John Nielsen-Gammon, a professor and the state of Texas' climatologist at Texas A&M University.
Scientists said the winds have to shift for the haze to move away from New York City and that could take a few days. Until then, the air here will remain unhealthy.