The East Coast was blanketed in smoke from wildfires in Canada this week. I can feel the burn and sting from the toxic smog in the back of my throat even now, after the air quality in Brooklyn has somewhat improved. My eyes became swollen, puffy, and irritated the morning after a masked walk.
In New York City, the Air Quality Index (AQI), a measure of air pollution and health safety risk, peaked at 484 on Wednesday evening, the highest ever recorded in the city. (The index only goes up to 500.) Philadelphia also surpassed 400.
Jessica S. McKenzie 