New Yorkers flee indoors as Canadian wildfire smoke smothers city

New York City schools, corporations and local sports groups canceled outdoor activities Wednesday to limit residents’ exposure to smoky air caused by hundreds of wildfires in Canada. 

Google told workers at offices across the U.S. and Canada to work from home instead of reporting to the company’s headquarters, a spokesperson told CBS MoneyWatch. Workers at the internet giant’s offices in New York; Detroit; Washington, D.C.; Pittsburgh, Pa. Raleigh and Durham, N.C.; Toronto; and Waterloo, Ontario, were excused from reporting to Google’s office Wednesday over air quality concerns.  

New York City public schools remained open Wednesday but cancelled all outdoor activities. “We urge everyone to reduce prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors,” the school district said on Twitter.

Across New York, sporting organizations scrapped planned activities, with Big City Volleyball canceling games that had been scheduled to take place Wednesday and youth soccer teams telling players not to show up for practice. A five-kilometer run, part of the Al Goldstein Speed Series of races hosted by the Prospect Park Track Club in Brooklyn, was also scratched Wednesday due to “poor air quality.” 

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said New Yorkers should limit outdoor activity Wednesday while noting that children, older adults and those with heart or breathing problems may be “especially sensitive and should avoid outdoor activities during this time.”

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“This is an unprecedented event in our city, and New Yorkers must take precautions,” he said.

Early Wednesday, New York City was second only to Delhi, India, for the worst air quality and pollution out of 100 tracked countries, according to Swiss air quality technology company IQAir. According to the company, the city has an Air Quality Index of 160, categorized as an “unhealthy” amount, meaning that some people may experience health effects.