On June 9, the New York City Department of Education closed schools and mandated they go to remote learning due to the poor air quality in New York City. Port Richmond High School seniors planned to celebrate their senior night at an outdoor carnival on their campus on June 9; however, this event was canceled. New York City’s poor air quality is from the smoke and pollutants drifting in from the wild forest fires in Canada.

The pollutants from the Canadian fires drifted into NYC on June 6 while students were still in school. By the end of the school day, many students expressed their concern about the color of the sky and the air they were breathing in when they were outside. 

 “I think that it’s horrible that wildfires are happening and that it’s affecting us on such a massive scale that it would turn the sky yellow and cause people difficulties breathing,” said PRHS student Gael Hernandez.

 “I think it looks dirty outside. I’m worried about it because we don’t know what chemicals are in the air and if it could hurt us,” said PRHS junior, Jahzara Ebron. 

  “I heard it’s the equivalent to smoking 6 cigarettes; it’s super scary but the yellowish colors look nice,”  stated PRHS senior, Georiam Badillo. 

On June 6, smoke from forest fires in Canada drifted into New York City causing poor air quality conditions in the five boroughs. The smoke and pollutants from the wildfires created an orange haze over New York City for three days.  The smoke generated by these fires contains fine particles and harmful pollutants that can be transported by wind over vast distances. The fine particles and pollutants  present in the smoke can irritate the respiratory system and pose risks to individuals. On June 8, New York City had a hazardous air quality index of 484. 

A Rutgers University Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Rutgers University Newark offered these safety tips when air quality is poor:

• Stay indoors, keep a respirator handy or tightly snug to your face to filter out smoke if needed.
• Try to stay in an isolated space away from outside impacted air, such as a room with windows closed.
• Put up a filter or a portable air cleaner in the room where you stay to keep the air clean
• Pay close attention to local weather warnings and local air quality index readings, and follow safety and emergency instructions.