After days of poor air quality in New York and much of the Northeast, the state’s top health official says monitoring will continue.
Acting Health Commissioner James McDonald, in an interview with Spectrum News 1 Friday, said air quality improved in most areas of New York state Friday after two days of cloudy skies milky and sometimes orange due to forest fires in Canada.
“We’re going to monitor things and I just encourage you to monitor along with us,” McDonald said.
New Yorkers can monitor air quality on their phone, just as they would check the daily weather, McDonald said. At the same time, New Yorkers can participate in outdoor activities on the weekends. But he warns that wildfires in Canada could still be a problem.
“These fires in Canada have been going on for six weeks,” he said. “It was only the changing winds that brought them here.”
Governor Kathy Hochul announced the distribution of N95 masks this week. The use of masks, especially for vulnerable people, can help, and air purifiers installed in homes can also improve indoor air quality, McDonald said.
“We have to be on our guard, be alert and watch out for this,” he said. “But we’ll certainly look at the wind patterns and see what the risk is to New York. If we see a concern, we’ll let people know.”
The smoke-filled air posed problems for people with respiratory and heat illnesses, as well as the elderly and infants. At the moment, the effects on people’s health during the last two days are not yet clear.
“People who have lung disease are vulnerable, people who have heart disease are vulnerable and then the elderly and the very, very young,” McDonald said. “But I can’t give you numbers of who has been affected yet, it will take some time to get those numbers.”
The smoky skies come as state officials have called for stepped-up efforts to address climate change and as New York looks to transition to cleaner, more renewable forms of energy. McDonald pointed to state healthcare facilities that transitioned to renewable energy.
“As a state, we can do great political things,” McDonald said. “Renewable energy is not just a good idea. It is necessary and this is something we have to do.”
Environmental advocates like NYPIRG’s Blair Horner urged lawmakers this week to adopt a series of measures to address climate change as the legislative session ends.
“It’s going to get worse and the price is going to go up,” Horner said. “What are they waiting for?”
