Purifier panic
Apocalyptic-looking scenes unfolded across New York City and the East Coast this week as blankets of smoke descended from Canadian wildfires. The resulting pollution and worsening air quality could potentially affect over 100 million Americans, sending Google searches for air purifiers surging more than 450% on Thursday compared to the previous day.
At its worst on Wednesday afternoon, NYC recorded the worst air quality of any major city in the world, with the main danger for citizens coming from tiny PM2.5 pollutant particles which can cause a range of health problems, especially for those with pre-existing conditions.
Bad air day
The air quality index from the Environmental Protection Agency revealed that New York City hit a record-high level of 254 on Wednesday, seeing it move well into the "very unhealthy" category. Such severe pollution levels are more commonly associated with megacities like Jakarta or New Delhi, and are exceptionally rare for New York City, where strict emissions regulations have significantly reduced pollution levels.
MLB games have been canceled, schools shut, and airlines forced to delay flights due to low visibility. Canadian authorities have also cautioned that this year's wildfire season could be one of the worst on record — those air purifiers may become an increasingly invaluable investment in the coming months.
