www.nbcboston.com Open in urlscan Pro
104.127.176.199  Public Scan

Form analysis
1 forms found in the DOM

GET https://www.nbcboston.com/

<form class="search-form i-amphtml-form" role="search" method="get" action="https://www.nbcboston.com/" target="_top" novalidate="">
  <label>
    <span class="screen-reader-text">Search for:</span>
    <input class="search-form-input" type="search" value="" name="s" placeholder="Search">
  </label>
  <input type="submit" class="search-submit" value="Search">
</form>

Text Content

Skip to content

wildfires


WHY DIDN'T BOSTON GET THE EXTREMELY SMOKY AIR THAT NYC DID?


AIRPORTS IN NEW YORK CITY, D.C., PHILADELPHIA AND HAD AIR TRAFFIC AFFECTED, YET
BOSTON, WHICH IS FURTHER NORTH, HASN'T HAD ITS AIR QUALITY DIP AS MUCH

BY TEVIN WOOTEN AND ASHER KLEIN • PUBLISHED JUNE 8, 2023 • UPDATED 1 HOUR AGO


NBC Universal, Inc.

Thursday night: Variable clouds, patchy fog inland. Lows 50-54. Friday:
Scattered showers, chance for a thunderstorm or two, cloudy. Highs in the low
60s. Saturday: Highs in the upper 60s. Scattered showers to sun.

The extremely hazy skies over New York City and other Northeast cities this week
have captivated the country as smoke from Canadian wildfires turned the air an
ominous orange color.

Boston had its own smoky skies on Tuesday, but avoided the almost apocalyptic
sights from New York City, where the air quality was rated as hazardous and
temporarily the worst of any major city in the world.

Haze from wildfire smoke covering the sun over Boston on Tuesday, June 6, 2023.
The smoke prompted an air quality alert in Massachusetts and elsewhere in the
Northeast. Smoke from Canadian wildfires blankets New York City, affecting air
quality on Wednesday, June 7, 2023. 

> Get Boston local news, weather forecasts, lifestyle and entertainment stories
> to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Boston’s newsletters.



The smoke is coming from Quebec and affected visibility enough in New York City,
D.C., Philadelphia and Charlotte that it's affected flights into and out of
their airports. Yet Boston, which is further north, hasn't had its air quality
dip as much.

In fact, air quality in the city was good on Thursday, according to the EPA,
while ranging from moderate to unhealthy for much of the rest of southern New
England.

What spared Boston from the worst of the bad air? It really just boils down to
the direction of the airflow.

The city has an area of low pressure overhead that acts as a steering mechanism
in the atmosphere. It’s positioned directly over Maine. The counter-clockwise
flow on the western periphery of the low pressure area brought a northerly wind
in the upper levels of the atmosphere due southward.

So, while yes, we’re closer to the Quebec border in latitude, we weren’t closest
to the plumes of smoke themselves, because:
a) it was funneled away from us
b) and the source region of the fires is closer in longitude.

See more

> A broad view of all the wildfire smoke today across the Midwest and Eastern
> United States. pic.twitter.com/DBNWiiGHRL
> 
> — CIRA (@CIRA_CSU) June 8, 2023

And that low pressure isn’t a perfect circle, like you see on TV all the time —
there are waves and deviations. The atmosphere is a fluid, and the smoke fits
the container of that fluid.

Wildfires in Canada have sent thick smoke across the Northeastern U.S.

There are deviations in the wind and it’s constantly changing. We tracked
wildfire smoke overhead in April and May, which came from Western Canada but
didn’t impact all states between New England and British Columbia.

By that same token, just because we’re in the clear today, doesn’t mean we will
be tomorrow.

NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 7: A general view of hazy conditions resulting from Canadian
wildfires at Yankee Stadium before the game between the Chicago White Sox and
the New York Yankees on June 7, 2023, in New York, New York. (Photo by New York
Yankees/Getty Images)
JERSEY CITY, NJ – JUNE 7: Smoke shrouds the skyline of Brooklyn behind the
Statue of Liberty as the sun rises in New York City on June 7, 2023, as seen
from Jersey City, New Jersey. (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 6: Heavy smoke shrouds buildings around Times Square in a
view looking north from the Empire State Building as the sun sets on June 6,
2023, in New York City. (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, US – JUNE 06: The Downtown Manhattan skyline stands shrouded in a
reddish haze as a result of Canadian wildfires on June 06, 2023 in New York
City. Over 100 wildfires are burning in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia and
Quebec resulting in air quality health alerts for the Adirondacks, Eastern Lake
Ontario, Central New York and Western New York. (Photo by Lokman Vural
Elibol/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
JERSEY CITY, NJ – JUNE 7: Smoke continues to shroud the sun as it rises behind
the skyline of lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center in New York City on
June 7, 2023, as seen from Jersey City, New Jersey. (Photo by Gary
Hershorn/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 06: People walk along the Brooklyn Promenade as a
reddish haze enshrouds the Manhattan skyline as a result of Canadian wildfires
on June 06, 2023 in New York City. Over 100 wildfires are burning in the
Canadian province of Nova Scotia and Quebec resulting in air quality health
alerts for the Adirondacks, Eastern Lake Ontario, Central New York and Western
New York. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, US – JUNE 06: The Downtown Manhattan skyline stands shrouded in a
reddish haze as a result of Canadian wildfires on June 06, 2023 in New York
City. Over 100 wildfires are burning in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia and
Quebec resulting in air quality health alerts for the Adirondacks, Eastern Lake
Ontario, Central New York and Western New York. (Photo by Lokman Vural
Elibol/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
WEST NEW YORK, NJ – JUNE 7: Smoke continues to shroud the sun as it rises behind
the skyline of Manhattan in New York City on June 7, 2023, as seen from West New
York , New Jersey. (Photo by Kena Betancur/VIEWpress/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, US – JUNE 06: The Downtown Manhattan skyline stands shrouded in a
reddish haze as a result of Canadian wildfires on June 06, 2023 in New York
City. Over 100 wildfires are burning in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia and
Quebec resulting in air quality health alerts for the Adirondacks, Eastern Lake
Ontario, Central New York and Western New York. (Photo by Lokman Vural
Elibol/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)



MORE ON THE WILDFIRE SMOKE OVER THE U.S.



Weather Jun 7


WILDFIRE SMOKE CONTINUES AIR QUALITY CONCERNS ACROSS NEW ENGLAND

news Jun 7


NEW YORK CITY TOPS WORLD'S WORST AIR POLLUTION LIST FROM CANADA WILDFIRE SMOKE

Read More

THIS ARTICLE TAGGED UNDER:

wildfiresMassachusettsBostonNew Englandair quality



 * Facebook
 * Twitter
 * Instagram

 * About NBC10 Boston
 * Our News Standards
 * Submit a Tip for Investigations
 * Connect With Us
 * Newsletters

 * WBTS Public Inspection File
 * WBTS Accessibility
 * WBTS Employment Information
 * FCC Applications
 * NBC Non-Profit News Partnership Reports
 * Send Feedback
 * Terms of Service
 * Privacy Policy
 * Your Privacy Choices
 * CA Notice
 * Ad Choices
 * Advertise with us

Copyright © 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. All rights reserved




Search for:
Meet the Team Local Weather School Closings Weather Alerts Climate 2023
Investigations NBC10 Boston Responds Submit a tip Video Traffic Health NBC
Sports Boston Sports Celtics New England Patriots Bruins Red Sox Entertainment
Hub Today
About NBC10 Boston Our News Standards TV Listings Submit a Tip Submit a Consumer
Complaint Submit Photos and Video Newsletters Download Our Apps Cozi TV
Contact Us Close the sidebar
Exit mobile version