New Yorkers woke up to an orange haze covering the city on Wednesday. 

The murky orange conditions can be traced to smog that has reached New York from wildfires in Canada. The wildfires started in late April and have continued for over two months. With over 30,000 people displaced so far, the fires are forecasted by experts to continue through August. 

The smoke from burning Canadian forests has traveled south, contributing to poor air quality in the Northeastern United States — with Pennsylvania, Connecticut and New York being hit the hardest. 

Social media has been abuzz with discussion of the apocalyptic orange in the sky. Many New Yorkers have shared their experiences and fears in the face of this environmental event on platforms including TikTok and Twitter. 

With the air quality plummeting from normal to hazardously toxic within a couple of hours in some states, one may ask — where is the smog going next? 

According to CBS News, wind currents across the northeast have already started to push the smoke towards the Great Lakes, meaning that the Midwest could be affected in the near future. Due to lack of rainfall, these areas could become fire prone areas. 

The situation, however, is not hopeless. According to Time magazine, meteorologists are predicting many scattered showers in eastern North America within the next couple of days. Canada may benefit from some of this rain.

According to Time, there also may be a change in wind direction as a result of these storms. This shift could reduce the severity of fires in already affected areas and redirect potential harm from those who have yet to be impacted. 

For now, New Yorkers are once again being advised to mask up and stay inside while neighboring states wait in fear — dreading the arrival of dusty orange skies.

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