Wildfires in Canada have caused poor air quality and smoky skies across several U.S. metros for days. On Wednesday, the air quality in New York City was ranked the worst in the world.
That’s according to IQAir’s Air Quality and Pollution City Ranking, which is updated hourly, the air pollution advocacy organization explains. It’s important to note that while New York City is currently in the top spot for unhealthy air, it will likely drop back down once the aforementioned smoke disappears. A few weeks ago, Denver, Colorado, was ranked among the top 10 worst in the world due to wildfire smoke. As of Wednesday, the city ranked 96th on IQAir’s list.
IQAir’s live Air Quality and Pollution City Ranking ranks cities based on AQI, or Air Quality Index points. Cities/areas are assigned a series of ranges for how healthy or unhealthy the air currently is.