Canadian wildfire smoke returns to NYC, triggers air quality alerts

Smoke from more than 100 wildfires burning in Canada drifted back over New York State on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, forcing air-quality health advisories across every region of the state and leaving New York City under hazy skies during an extreme heat event. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Department of Health issued the alert for fine particulate matter, covering the New York City Metro, Long Island, the Lower Hudson Valley, Upper Hudson Valley, Adirondack region, Eastern Lake Ontario, Central New York and Western New York.

New York City Emergency Management said visible smoke and hazy skies could continue statewide while poor air quality overlapped with dangerous heat. Governor Kathy Hochul warned that smoke from fires in Canada and high temperatures would create unhealthy conditions in New York. New York tracks air quality through more than 50 monitoring sites.

AQI levels from 101 to 150 are unhealthy for sensitive groups, while readings above 150 are unhealthy for everyone, according to the EPA. Wildfire smoke can travel far from the fires that produced it and can make anyone sick, with greater risk for people with asthma, COPD, heart disease, diabetes, pregnant people, children and older adults, according to the CDC. New York City’s health alert urged all residents to limit strenuous outdoor activity as the smoke moved through the region.

The smoke plume was tied not only to the Canadian fires but also to large wildfires in northern Minnesota, where more than 33,000 acres had burned and thousands of visitors were ordered to leave the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Forecasters said the haze could persist into Thursday, July 16, as the plume moved slowly and conditions shifted through the day.