As Skies Clear, NYC Emergency Management Closes Out Citywide Wildfire Smoke Response and Thanks New Yorkers

July 19, 2026

#28-26

As Skies Clear, NYC Emergency Management Closes Out Citywide Wildfire Smoke Response and Thanks New Yorkers

Second-Most Severe Smoke Event in the City's Modern Record

Five Days of Interagency Response and Coordination Kept New Yorkers Cooled, Informed, and Equipped With Masks

NEW YORK - New York City Emergency Management (NYCEM) and the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), in coordination with the New York State Departments of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES), the National Weather Service, and agency partners this week activated a full-scale, citywide response to a historic wildfire smoke event that blanketed the five boroughs in thick haze and drove air quality to its worst levels in more than three years. The Air Quality Index (AQI) for the New York City region peaked at 289 (Very Unhealthy) at 10 PM Thursday, July 16, per AirNow monitoring. In the City's modern record, only the June 2023 wildfire smoke event ranks higher, when the AQI peaked as high as 465, a Hazardous level. And for the first time, a major smoke event arrived in the middle of an active heat emergency, and the City ran its heat plan and its air quality response at full strength, simultaneously.

By Friday afternoon, readings had fallen to approximately 120 (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups). Readings climbed again Saturday morning, reaching as high as 186 (Unhealthy), before falling steadily through the afternoon and evening as rain helped wash remaining particulates from the air. Readings returned to the Moderate range overnight and stood at 78 (Moderate) as of Sunday morning under clear, sunny skies.

"This past week, smoke from the Canadian wildfires blanketed our city in the middle of a dangerous heat emergency. And once again, New Yorkers showed what makes this city extraordinary: we showed up for one another," said Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani. "Librarians, firefighters, and police officers handed out masks. Outreach workers walked their routes through the smoke and the heat so that no New Yorker sleeping outside had to face those conditions alone. Staff at our cooling centers kept their doors open and their spaces cool for everyone who needed relief. And in every borough, neighbors checked on neighbors. To every City worker and New Yorker who stepped up this week: thank you. That's what solidarity looks like. The skies over our city have cleared, but the fires in Canada are still burning. Conditions can change quickly, so stay informed. Keep your alerts on by texting NOTIFYNYC to 692-692, and keep checking in on your neighbors. That's how we get through moments like these together."

"This week New York City faced extreme heat, hazardous wildfire smoke, and flooding at the same time," said NYCEM Commissioner Christina Farrell. "From public warnings, mask distribution, cooling centers, outreach, health guidance, and shifting weather operations, the coordination was citywide and around the clock. Libraries, and agencies like NYPD, FDNY, Health, Parks, Schools, Health + Hospitals, our state partners at DEC and DHSES, and federal partners at the National Weather Service, and our local elected officials each carried a piece of this. But the most important part of this response came from New Yorkers. You picked up masks, you moved your plans indoors, you checked on your neighbors. Thank you for doing your part. And we know you will stay ready if conditions worsen again."

"Over the past week, New Yorkers faced multiple health hazards at once, including extreme heat and wildfire smoke that brought rapidly changing conditions. That required all of us to pay close attention to our health and each other, and New Yorkers stepped up to the challenge," said NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Alister F. Martin. "The good news is that our air quality has improved. Keep checking the air quality forecasts, remain vigilant, and be prepared to take simple steps to protect yourself, loved ones, and neighbors."

How the Week Unfolded

On Tuesday, July 14, a day before the smoke arrived, NYCEM and DOHMH issued a joint advisory warning that air quality would deteriorate as smoke spread from more than 100 wildfires burning across western and northwestern Ontario, according to Canadian fire officials. The smoke reached the five boroughs Wednesday, July 15, turning skies a hazy yellow-orange and shrouding landmarks from the Statue of Liberty to One World Trade Center. Residents across the boroughs reported the smell of burning. For a stretch on Thursday, according to some global rankings, New York registered the third-worst air quality of any major city in the world.

The AQI climbed through Thursday afternoon, crossed into the Very Unhealthy category (above 200) by early evening, and crested at 289 at 10 PM. Readings stayed Very Unhealthy overnight into the predawn hours Friday, held in the Unhealthy range through Friday morning, then eased to Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups by mid-afternoon. Readings climbed again Saturday, peaking at 186 (Unhealthy) in the morning, when New York again ranked among the major cities with the worst air quality in the world according to some global rankings, then fell steadily through the day as rain washed much of the remaining particulate matter from the air, and by Sunday morning readings had returned to the Moderate range. New Yorkers who lived through June 2023 will remember worse. That record-setting event, fueled by Quebec wildfires, drove the citywide AQI to a hazardous peak of at least as high as 465. This week was a less extreme peak, but a more difficult combination, because this smoke arrived alongside a heat emergency.

An Interagency Response

NYCEM and DOHMH issued advisories ahead of the smoke's arrival, giving New Yorkers a day to prepare. As conditions worsened, the City distributed free masks at public library branches, including all New York Public Library, Brooklyn Public Library, and Queens Public Library locations, and at all NYPD precincts and FDNY division firehouses across all five boroughs. Nearly 600 cooling centers stayed open citywide as refuge from both heat and smoke, and NYC Health + Hospitals cooling vans moved through the boroughs providing water, electrolytes, medical assistance, and rides.

New York State stood alongside the City throughout, issuing a statewide Air Quality Health Advisory and, through the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES), distributed more than 100,000 masks at transit hubs including Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal. The City also thanks NYS DEC and the National Weather Service (NWS), whose forecasts guided every operational decision of the week.

For New Yorkers with the fewest places to go, the City went to them. Code Grey outreach procedures were activated alongside Code Red heat protocols, with outreach teams canvassing homeless New Yorkers more frequently, distributing masks, and offering transportation to shelter. NYC Public Schools and NYC Parks moved activities indoors, rescheduled outdoor events, and adjusted programming in real time as conditions shifted, while real-time updates went out through Notify NYC, the City's free emergency alert system, available in 13 languages including American Sign Language.

Air Quality Outlook

Closing out the response does not mean the work is finished. The fires that produced this week's smoke are still burning. As of Saturday, Ontario officials reported 191 wildfires burning northwest of Thunder Bay, 73 of them out of control, with roughly 1.7 million acres burned, ten communities evacuated, and hundreds of people rescued from the fire zone, according to provincial officials and Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre data.

In New York City, today brings clear, sunny skies and dry conditions, a seasonable summer day with high temperatures of 81-84 degrees and heat index values a couple of degrees below air temperatures. Northwest winds of 10-20 mph will gust to 25-30 mph, mainly across southern coastal areas through the morning and early afternoon. Current air quality readings have held in the Moderate range through Sunday morning, most recently 78 (Moderate, Fine Particles), and the daily forecasted AQI is 100 (Moderate, Fine Particles), though a few hours peaking in the 101-150 (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups) range are possible in the late afternoon and early evening as lingering fine particles from the ongoing fires move through. Smoke plumes can return while the Ontario fires burn.

NYCEM will keep tracking wildfire activity and smoke trajectories with NYSDEC and the National Weather Service and stands ready to resume mask distribution and issue Notify NYC alerts the moment conditions warrant. New Yorkers can stay informed through Notify NYC (nyc.gov/notifynyc or text NOTIFYNYC to 692-692), www.AirNow.gov, the NYSDEC daily air quality forecast (https://appfactory.dec.ny.gov/AQI/), and @nycemergencymgt on social media.

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