By Penelope Day

On Wednesday, June 7th, Murrowites left school to a seemingly apocalyptic scene: an orange, smoggy sky, the result of smoke from drastic Canadian wildfires that descended on the northeastern U.S. Tuesday. 

According to the New York Times, the smog has already devastated New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C. NYC had the worst Air Quality Index (AQI) of any city in the world from Wednesday afternoon through Thursday evening, with the AQI peaking at over 400 (on a 500 point scale) late in the day on Wednesday. The pollution levels topped those of any North American wildfire since 2006. 

Image: The dense smoke was seen blanketing the sky over Murrow for most of Tuesday afternoon.

In response to the mounting crisis, the New York City Department of Education (NYC DOE) declared Thursday’s clerical day a remote workday for staff and announced remote learning for Friday, June 9th. 

The poor air quality is concerning for many Murrowites, including junior Alysa Tso, one of many students worried for the health of herself and her family members. 

“My family has a lot of health issues, so the air pollution gave us a lot of concerns,” Tso said. “For example, my grandfather recently just had surgery for his lung cancer. Considering how bad the air was yesterday, we didn’t want him to be exposed to the air, especially with the number of respiratory issues that came along with it.”

Junior Anastasiia Podhorna also expressed concern, particularly over the significance of the lingering smoke. 

“Honestly, before this problem, I didn’t even know that such a thing as air quality existed,” Podhorna said. “But right now, I’m concerned about the rest of the United States rather than just New York. This situation is horrifying, especially the brownish orange sky. Yes, [I’m] definitely concerned, and scared for my life, for my relatives and other people in NYC.”

Image: An AQI map as of 5pm on Tuesday, showing the worst of the smog over Brooklyn.

The intensity of the issue has particularly triggered concern over climate change for many. The fires in Eastern Canada were mainly sparked by human activity, but allowed to grow to massive blazes due to drought and unseasonable heat in a typically rainy region.

Freshman Alice Donohoe said she was worried that the wildfires were part of a greater global trend. 

“I am definitely concerned,” Donohoe said. “I would be even more concerned if people weren’t concerned. Because really, at the end of the day, the increased rate of wildfires, pollution, and harmful chemicals in the atmosphere are mostly our fault.” 

Podhorna agreed with her classmate and was worried what it would be like in the future. 

“When the sky became brown around 2pm. I certainly had a feeling of living in some apocalyptic world,” she said.. “And the air quality was around 400, this was not only depressing but also worrying about the future in general.”

Image: The NYC skyline almost completely obscured by orange smoke. Courtesy of the New York Post and the World Trade Center Earth Camera.

The orange smoke has particularly harkened students back to the crisis California, Oregon, and other West Coast states have faced in recent summers. Donohoe said the issue reminded her of other serious climate change effects around the world she’s learned about. 

“It’s one thing to know about [the climate crisis], and another thing to experience it,” Donohoe said. 

Even though she wasn’t born, Tso also referenced New York’s last extreme change in air quality, following the 9/11 attacks in 2001. 

“This reminds me of the 9/11 aftermath, where many people had respiratory problems after being exposed to the air,” Tso said. 

Officials are recommending that people stay indoors, wear masks outside, and take other precautionary measures until the AQI improves. The National Weather Service’s Air Quality Warning for NYC warned against “fine particulates” exceeding unhealthy amounts in the air, and advised sensitive groups, including children, the elderly, and people with pre-existing respiratory conditions to limit outdoor activity. 

As the situation escalated on Wednesday afternoon, many students quickly donned masks. School staff scrounged up every box of masks that could be found and quickly made them available at the front entrance and the door to the nurse’s office to ensure students could make it home safely. 

Podhorna and her family took the extra precaution of setting up air filters in their home. 

“We do use filters at home, gladly we have two new ones, and air moisturizers, which helps mostly with keeping the air fresh,” she said. 

Tso conveyed her frustration that many people brushed off the issue at first, as Brooklyn began smelling smokey Tuesday evening. 

“I think people should’ve been concerned from the moment they smelled that smokey odor,” Tso said. “I knew the smell wasn’t going to clear after a few hours, but I really didn’t expect the sky to change color. I think the more oranger it got, the more I started to think ‘wow, this was a bigger issue than I thought.’”

Even as everyone sprung into action though, students have still felt the health effects of prolonged exposure to smoke and dangerous air pollution. Donohoe stated that she and her family had experienced irritated eyes and sore throats. Podhorna experienced symptoms of migraines. 

“[Because of migraines] I wasn’t able to concentrate in school, and it was difficult at home since the whole room smelled like smoke and burning,” Podhorna said. 

Even as the air slowly returns to normal, it’s clear New Yorkers and Murrowites alike will remember the dire event for years to come. 

“There’s a quote by (American environmentalist) Bill McKibben that [expresses this situation] in a very simple way,” Donohoe concluded. “‘We’ve been given a warning by science, and a wake up call by nature; it is up to us now to heed them.’”

Featured Image: Murrowites leaving school on June 7th in the yellow smog.