Orange smoke covers New York - 14th June 2023

In parts of the US, the air was terrible last week. Fires in Quebec, Canada were a big problem. Wind moved the air to US cities. In New York, Chicago and Washington DC, the sky was orange.

People couldn't see famous places like the Statue of Liberty. Like millions of others, Jack Wright experienced the problem. He lives in New York.

Jack Wright: "You can't even see the Statue of Liberty today and usually it's bright and clear."

Nicha's a tourist from Thailand. She was very unhappy about it.

Nicha Suaittiyanon: "I'm trying to like get lots of pictures as much as I can, but as you can see, when I took pictures I cannot see like the building even. I can't even see like the bridge in the pictures."

The government kept checking the air. It told people to be careful. Air pollution is very unhealthy. It isn't good to breathe in the air. It's especially bad for some people. People with problems like asthma need to stay safe.

Jack Wright started coughing. He said it was because of the air.

Jack Wright: "It's generated a kind of a cough all day long. I haven't, I quit smoking 50 years ago, but it's kind of a cough that I would have when I smoked."

Some people wore masks on their faces.

Charmaine Franco: "You know, it's a bit cloudy, makes my eyes water, you know. As I had to bring her out today, you know, we had to make sure to keep our masks on because of the air quality, to make sure that, you know, we are okay. But you can't stay out here for too long, but you have to do what you have to do, so you have to get back inside."

Nicha, the tourist, didn't like the smell. Her eyes hurt too. But some locals, like Pamela Roderick, weren't worried.

Nicha Suaittiyanon: "I smell kind of like someone's like doing barbecue or like all the time and then my eyes got watery and like itchy all the time yesterday, so the all, the whole evening was, for me, kind of like smoking, like smelling smoking and then my eyes are itchy."

Pamela Roderick: "So no, it doesn't bother me. I mean, you know, New York often smells kind of strange."