New York City (NYC) residents are masking up again, but not to protect against a virus.
East Coast residents awoke Tuesday morning (June 6) to their cities and towns shrouded in a thick, smokey haze from the current wildfires in Quebec, Canada. The smoke is so thick that NYC moved up to number one on the World Air Quality Index (AQI), according to IQAir, with a rating of over 200 — which is considered “very unhealthy.” The rating has since dropped to 161 – “unhealthy” — and the city still ranks near the top of the list.
“I used to wear my mask only inside because of being in a close office space,” says Nina, a Brooklyn resident. “But I would take my mask off outside because the air is usually fresh.” Now, Nina wears a mask outside to protect against the low air quality.
