New Yorkers are facing two environmental concerns Wednesday: dangerous heat and the possibility of wildfire smoke affecting the city\u2019s air.<\/p>\n
However, city officials say the heat remains the bigger and more immediate threat.<\/p>\n
A heat advisory remains in effect for New York City through 9 p.m., with the heat index expected to reach up to 104. The hot and humid conditions could increase the risk of heat-related illness, especially for older adults, young children and people with certain health conditions.<\/p>\n
Homes without air conditioning can also become much hotter than the temperature outside.<\/p>\n
Nearly 600 cooling centers are open across the five boroughs, including locations at public libraries. The Rugby Library in East Flatbush is among the locations serving as a cooling center.<\/p>\n
The city says New Yorkers without air conditioning should still go to a cooling center, even if smoke affects the air quality.<\/p>\n
A cool, indoor space can provide protection from both the dangerous heat and smoke outside.<\/p>\n
People who have air conditioning at home are encouraged to stay inside, keep windows and doors closed and set their air conditioners to recirculate indoor air.<\/p>\n
New Yorkers are also encouraged to check on older family members, friends and neighbors \u2014 especially anyone who does not have air conditioning.<\/p>\n
Smoke from wildfires burning in western Ontario, Canada, could move into the New York City area. However, the timing and possible impact at ground level remain uncertain.<\/p>\n
City officials say current forecasts do not point to a repeat of the heavy orange haze New York City experienced in June 2023. Still, people may notice smoke, and air quality conditions could change.<\/p>\n
If air quality worsens, New Yorkers should limit strenuous outdoor activity and pay attention to how they are feeling.<\/p>\n
Anyone who must spend time outside during poor air quality can wear a well-fitting KN95 or N95 mask to help reduce the amount of fine smoke particles they breathe in.<\/p>\n
Free KN95 masks are available at Brooklyn Public Library branches and other select public libraries across the city.<\/p>\n
New Yorkers can call 311 to find a nearby cooling center and get heat safety information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New Yorkers are facing two environmental concerns Wednesday: dangerous heat and the possibility of wildfire smoke affecting the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":296430,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,100,99,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-296429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=296429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296429\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/296430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=296429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=296429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=296429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}