NEW YORK — The New York fashion capital ranked first in poorest air quality among all metropolitan areas in the world late Tuesday, with effects lingering into Wednesday and lending a sepia hue to the city.
Canadian wildfires raging in the provinces of Quebec and Nova Scotia are responsible for much of the dense haze and smoke covering the Northeast. Wildfires in Ocean County, New Jersey, are also contributing to the air pollution. Officials issued air quality alerts in cities including New York and Detroit, with swaths of the Ohio Valley, New York Tri-State area and all the way to the Carolinas implicated. Some school activities, beaches and other outdoor activities were postponed.
A Google Trend alert said “air quality index” spiked 600 percent in searches as of Wednesday, with “What to do when air quality is bad?” becoming another breakout search. But for the city’s fashion and jewelry districts, business is going on much as usual save for more masks spotted on the Midtown Manhattan streets.
New York-based manufacturer Katie Sue Nicklos, chief executive officer of Wing & Weft Gloves, said the haze was much better Wednesday morning than it had been Tuesday. Photos she took Wednesday from her office on 37th Street overlooking Eighth Avenue depict a dense gray blanket, though it’s easy to mistake for a cloudy day. By Tuesday afternoon, conditions had devolved into what Nicklos described “faint campfire” smells. IQair, a Swiss air quality monitoring system, documented a “very unhealthy” 222 rating late Tuesday night on a scale of 0 to 500 (a typical New York City day is “good,” at best, at 50). This put New York as the top worst quality air of any metropolitan city, surpassing Delhi, India; Kuwait City, and Baghdad.
State health officials advised vulnerable individuals to limit time outdoors and to wear a mask when possible. Studies show N95, KN95 and FFP2 masks are the most effective against particle pollution and airborne infections.
“As for masks, I’m sure it’s smart to wear them,” Nicklos said. “I see bikers coming in across the Brooklyn Bridge in filtering masks, and I believe those more sporty or technical masks are more readily available.” She said if Canadian wildfires continue to occur with rapid regularity, she hopes New York-based designers can, as with the COVID-19 pandemic, fill the need in masks.
Wing & Weft also produces UPV gloves, or those with built-in UV protection. Nicklos said she could foresee air pollution products like masks becoming as popular a concern as sunscreen in the not-so-distant future.
“Our generation is definitely seeing the impact of all of this climate change, and I think that’s why we’re also more passionate about it,” chimed in Shilpa Yarlagadda, founder and chief executive officer of ethical jewelry brand Shiffon Co. The 25-year-old founder is a fresh voice in New York’s Diamond District, one less inclined to the status quo. “Some people are still living in denial, but as an individual human, as a company — everything we do matters.”