New York, Detroit air quality among world's worst as cities are engulfed in Canadian wildfire smoke

New York City and Detroit are among the worst cities for air quality and pollution globally on Wednesday as smoke from wildfires in Canada engulfed much of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.

New York City is currently ranked as the fourth worst metropolitan area for air quality, behind Delhi, India; Hanoi, Vietnam; and Dhaka, Bangladesh, per air quality monitor IQair. At one point Tuesday evening, New York City's air quality became the worst of any metropolitan area, CNN reported, and the city was given a score of more than 200, which is described by IQair as "very unhealthy."

Detroit currently has the sixth worst air quality for any metropolitan area, per IQAir. At one point Wednesday morning, Detroit had the second worst air quality in the world, with Delhi, India being the only city with worse air, according to The Detroit Free Press.

Both New York City and Detroit are experiencing a concentration of fine particulate matter in the air that is at least 15 times more than is considered safe by the World Health Organization. 

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) recommended for school districts in the state to cancel outdoor activities due to poor air quality.

Much of the state is under an air quality health advisory, per the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

People in New York City are instructed to stay inside when possible and people belonging to at-risk groups are instructed to wear a high-quality mask when outside.

In total, 98 million people in 18 states are under air quality alerts, according to NBC News.

More than 6.7 million acres of wildfires have already burned in Canada this year, making it one of the worst fire periods in the country's history.

Madeleine Hubbard is an international correspondent for Just the News. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram.