Thick wildfire smoke is currently hovering over New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington, creating an apocalyptic-like atmosphere. The smoke that originated in Canada from dense forest fires in the Quebec region. Yesterday, New York City was lit up in an orange hue for much of the afternoon which cause the Yankees game to be canceled. An astonishing 114 million Americans have been effected by the poor air quality. Now, the smoke is starting to effect travel as hundreds of flights in the U.S. have been grounded due to low visibility.
According to NBC News:
At least 330 flights across the country were delayed and another eight were canceled as of Thursday morning, according to FlightAware.com, a flight tracking service.
The Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday morning that it had delayed all flights bound for New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport nationwide. It also delayed certain flights bound for New York’s LaGuardia Airport. The agency warned that delays were also possible at airports in Charlotte, Dallas, Philadelphia and at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.
FlightAware’s “MiseryMap” showed that Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport were seeing the most significant disruptions as of 11 a.m. ET Thursday.
In a statement, the FAA said it would “likely need to take steps to manage the flow of traffic safely into New York City, D.C., Philadelphia and Charlotte due to reduced visibility from wildfire smoke.”
The winds from the north have swooped in, lending their aid to the blazing fires and inadvertently pushing the smoke towards major U.S. cities. The smoke is considered to dangerous and could especially pose problems for those with respiratory issues.
