New York smothered in smog from bushfires

A deep orange hue enveloped the metropolitan area of 20 million people as fires raged in the Canadian province of Quebec.

The scene across New York, as haze descended causing stinging eyes and breathing difficulties has been described as “apocalyptic” in look.

Iconic landmarks like the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building and Yankees Stadium were shrouded in an eerie orange glow.

In some cases, the thick smoke travelled around 1300km from northern Quebec to New York – that’s about the distance from Adelaide to Sydney.

Residents of New York and other areas affected by the smog have been advised to remain indoors on Wednesday as the conditions continue and the pollution hits “unhealthy” levels.

Schools in New York are open but have ceased outdoor activities.

A vast swath of the US east coast is affected including Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC and the all way south to the Carolinas.

On Tuesday, New York had officially the world’s worst air pollution of any major global metropolitan area.

At one point, its air quality index was above 200, meaning the residents of New Delhi, Baghdad and Lahore were all breathing more easily than New Yorkers.

On Wednesday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said conditions were expect to deteriorate to as bad as what was witnessed on Tuesday.

“Yesterday, New Yorkers saw and smelled something that has never impacted us on this scale before,” he said.

“This is an unprecedented event in our city and New Yorkers must take precautions.

“We recommend vulnerable New Yorkers stay inside and all New Yorkers should limit outdoor activity to the greatest extent possible,” said Mayor Adams.

“We’ll be in this same kind of weather pattern through (Wednesday), and tomorrow as well,” Fox Weather meteorologist Stephen McCloud told the New York Post.

“By Sunday night we should start to see improvement as a new storm system from the west approaches and starts to move this storm system out.”

More than 150 bushfires are afflicting Canada, most of those were in Quebec but there are others across the nation as far west as British Columbia.

More than 3 million hectares of land have been burned, vastly more than the annual average.

Canadian cities such as Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal have also been blanketed.

The region of Abitibi-Témiscamingue, in north western Quebec around 350km from Ottawa, has seen scores of fires.

In the rural town of Label-sur-Quévillon around 2100 locals have been evacuated due to a fire 10 kilometres away.