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West coast wildfire smoke reaches New York, east coast

The smoke reaching the city is one of two separate swaths blowing across the US from the out-of-control wildfires raging across vast areas of the West Coast.

Staff Writers
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A firefighter stands near a fire raging along a highway in California on Sept 6, 2020. Photo: AP
A firefighter stands near a fire raging along a highway in California on Sept 6, 2020. Photo: AP

Smoke from the wildfires devastating California and much of the West Coast reached the Big Apple on Tuesday, but the haze is so high in the sky, it should not affect air quality.

“Widespread haze is likely today in NYC, as a plume of wildfire smoke from Western US wildfires moves overhead,” New York Metro Weather tweeted.

“The smoke will remain elevated between 15,000 and 20,000 feet above our heads,” the forecasting service said, stressing that meant that “ground-level air quality effects will be limited”.

The smoke plume is not expected to worsen air quality which is being predicted as excellent for today for New York on Accuweather.

The main sign of the smoke, along with the haze, will be a “yellow or brown tinge” in the sky, the National Weather Service’s New York office said.

The smoke reaching the city is one of two separate swaths blowing across the US from the out-of-control wildfires raging across vast areas of the West Coast, CNN noted.

A separate plume has travelled across the southwest through Missouri, Illinois and Kentucky, ending in the mid-Atlantic states, the network said.

A narrow strip of land between both smoke paths was spared, including parts of Nevada, Utah and Colorado, according to the report.

The smoke has travelled around 5,000km across the continent, from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic.

Weather services predict more is on the way.