Environment

Red sky, take warning: New York’s brush with bad air quality is a sign of global ‘new reality’

Last year, a global weather body stated that wildfires during extreme summer heatwaves were a ‘foretaste of the future’ and the ‘climate penalty’ we would pay was worsening air quality overall, not just in the US

Municipal officials in New York advised people to stay indoors or at least wear a mask when outdoors due to poor air quality as a result of wild fires 600km away in Quebec, Canada. Picture: Getty

At midday on Thursday, despite advice from state officials to stay indoors, artist Mykola Kushniruk came to Central Park to set up his stall in his regular spot.

On a walkway near Bethesda Fountain, an iconic monument in the park, he neatly laid out his artwork in the hopes of catching the attention of passers-by.

His stall appeared unattended, but Kushniruk was perched nearby on a little hill away from his display. From the vantage ...