Smoke from raging wildfires in Canada is spreading further into southern and western areas, giving New York and the nearby northeastern coast a brief respite as pollution levels dipped slightly.
An orange haze has blanketed the metropolis for two days.
Pollution still remains at an “unhealthy” level in New York, Washington DC and Philadelphia but has been downgraded from the “code purple” seen on Wednesday and Thursday.
Wildfire smoke is now set to reach states as far as Georgia and Louisiana down south, while also drifting westward to Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas and Illinois.
At least 13 states have issued air quality alerts, impacting an estimated 115 million people.
Schools moved to remote classes in New York on Friday, while baseball games were postponed and several restaurants shut as smoke billowed from Canada’s devastating wildfires.
