Wildfire smoke is making parts of the northeastern US look like Mars

Kelly McLaughlinJun 8, 2023, 01:12 IST

Heavy smoke shrouds buildings around Times Square in a view looking north from the Empire State Building as the sun set in New York City on Tuesday.Gary Hershorn/Getty Images

Wildfires in Canada are sending smoke to cities across the northeastern US.
Multiple states face air quality alerts as haze takes over the sky.

Wildfires blazing across eastern Canada have sent plumes of smoke cascading hundreds of miles south into the US, transforming huge swaths of the Northeast into a Martian landscape with hazy, red skies.

The US government has issued air quality warnings across the Midwest and Northeast, urging people to limit their time outside as the smoke passes through. In New York City, the air smelled strongly of burning timber.

Photos from New York, Washington, DC, and other parts of the Northeast show how the smoke is upending day-to-day life.

In New York City, the Statue of Liberty was shrouded in haze as a commuter ferry passed.

The Statue of Liberty is shrouded in haze and smoke caused by wildfires in Canada.Amr Alfiky/Reuters

The sun reflected through the smoke onto the Hudson River in New York, creating an orange-red glow on the water.

A New York Waterway ferry travels on the Hudson River shortly after sunrise, as smoke caused by wildfires in Canada hang over the Manhattan skyline, in New York City, New York.Mike Segar/Reuters

Yankee Stadium's lights blended into the haze during Tuesday night's game.

New York Yankees' Clarke Schmidt pitches to Chicago White Sox's Tim Anderson during the first inning of a baseball game on Tuesday.Frank Franklin II/AP News

From Jersey City, New Jersey, the New York City skyline could hardly be seen on Wednesday morning as commuters traveled to work.

The sun is shrouded as it rises in a smoky sky due to the Canadian wildfires in New York City of United States.Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

The Manhattan skyline struggled to be seen through the smoke from Guttenberg, NJ, on Tuesday morning.

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 Guttenberg, New Jersey.Kena Betancur/VIEWpress/Getty Images

A murky sun shone over Belmont Park on New York's Long Island. The Belmont Stakes is scheduled to take place at the park on Saturday.

Haze from northern wildfires obscures the rising sun as horsemen ride their mounts towards the track ahead of the Belmont Stakes horse race at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York.John Minchillo/AP Photo

In Washington, DC, tourists still visited the Washington Monument.

Smoke from wildfires in Canada blankets the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and the National Mall in Washington, DC.Leah Millis/Reuters

The US Capitol Building could barely be seen through the murk.

Tourists walk around the base of the Washington Monument as wildfire smoke casts a haze of the U.S. Capitol on the National Mall.Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

At sunset in Boston on Tuesday, the sun glowed an ominous red.

The Boston skyline is pictured shrouded in smoke as the sun sets, in Boston, Massachusetts.Lauren Owens Lambert / AFP via Getty Images

The smoke hit Toronto, Canada, this week too, with it giving the sun a deep, red glow.

Smoke from forest fires in Northern Ontario and in Quebec contribute to pink hazy sunset in the city from the Cherry Beach over Toronto.Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images

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