See hazy shots of the NYC skyline due to smoke from West Coast wildfires

If the skyline in NYC has looked milky-gray to you this week, that’s from high-in-the-sky smoke haze.

Smoke from the severe and devastating wildfires that are raging over much of the West Coast have blown thousands of miles east, this week reaching New York.

“Widespread haze is likely today in NYC, as a plume of wildfire smoke from Western US wildfires moves overhead,” New York Metro Weather tweeted.

Jet-stream winds are moving the swath of smoke from fires across the atmosphere to New York and the New England area.

“The smoke will remain elevated between 15,000 and 20,000 feet above our heads,” said New York Metro Weather, stressing that ground-level air quality effects will be limited for New Yorkers. 

Sun looking very muted over New York right now. Is it possible that this is smoke from the wildfires out west? pic.twitter.com/ifeFU7C8pX

— Dave 🌊 (@dave_krugman) September 14, 2020

Explains Coney Island's sunset last night...

Can't believe smoke from the wild fires in California reached all the way to #NYC 😞 https://t.co/yoEdoYXxlf pic.twitter.com/SC0ngWmDwv

— Andrew J. Padilla 🇵🇷 (@apadillafilm6) September 15, 2020

On the West Coast, however, the air quality is very hazardous—among the worst air conditions in the world right now—specifically in parts of California, Oregon and Washington. That's according to AirNow, an air quality database maintained by government agencies including NOAA, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

To help the thousands of people affected (over 220,000 residents have had to evacuate their homes), here are some resources currently accepting donation funds:

• GoFundMe has launched a Wildfire Relief Fund.

• The California Fire Foundation has disaster relief programs that offer help to fire victims, aids California's firefighters and provides longterm wildfire support.

• The Latino Community Foundation's Wildfire Relief Fund supports Latino-led grassroots organizations in California, for Latino and immigrant families.

• Food Banks such as the Oregon Food Bank, the Central California Food Bank and the River City Food Bank, among many other regional food banks and pantries, are a good place to donate as well, as thousands have already experienced economic loss due to the pandemic.

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