Smoke from western wildfires reaches New York area

NEW YORK - New Yorkers have noticed a haze lingering over the city. One Upper East Side resident said he saw a yellow-orange tinge to the sunlight around 1 p.m. on Tuesday.

Wildfire smoke from the west swept into the tristate, creating dangerous conditions in the air.

"The atmosphere is just choked with smoke from fires out in the western U.S. and Canada. The sky is full of smoke and it's restricting visibility horizontally down here near the surface of the earth," Dr. Dave Robinson, the New Jersey state climatologist at Rutgers University, told  FOX 5 NY. "If we get some rain that will help clean out the sky here in the mid-Atlantic states if the circulating winds from west to east shift position." 

The New York Department of Environmental Protection issued air quality health advisories for New York City, Long Island, the Hudson Valley, and other parts of the state.

Dr. Robert Amler of New York Medical College said the air quality can make it difficult to breathe for those with lung conditions. He suggests wearing a mask or staying indoors. 

"Hazy air can be dangerous especially if you're elderly and or if you have a lung condition like COPD," Amler said. "For those people who like to exercise outdoors, these hazy days are not the healthiest days to exercise."

The thick haze sitting over Manhattan also made it impossible to see the sunset. 

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