EVG reader George Cohen says that early this morning, from after midnight to the time he went to bed, "a severe air pollution smell came through my windows" in his East Village apartment.
"I was in Beijing in 2013, and the air smelled like this. At about 10 am I went out, and Avenue D, down past Houston Street was in a THICK STINKY SMOG."
He took the above photo late this afternoon, "and I still could smell polluted air."
Cohen said that he checked the air pollution stats online, which received a "good" rating on one site and "moderate" on another...
"I beg to differ. This is f----d up. This could be an example of faulty air monitoring, or it's a coverup. Not likely, but I certainly did not imagine the smell and the visuals. I wonder what's up?"
Updated 12/7 11 a.m.
Via the Weather Channel... in ALL CAPS:
... AIR QUALITY ALERT IN EFFECT THROUGH MIDNIGHT...
THE NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION HAS ISSUED AN AIR QUALITY HEALTH ADVISORY FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
RICHMOND... KINGS... QUEENS... NEW YORK... BRONX... WESTCHESTER... ROCKLAND.
AIR QUALITY LEVELS IN OUTDOOR AIR ARE PREDICTED TO BE GREATER THAN AN AIR QUALITY INDEX VALUE OF 100 FOR FINE PARTICLES. THE AIR QUALITY INDEX... OR AQI... WAS CREATED AS AN EASY WAY TO CORRELATE LEVELS OF DIFFERENT POLLUTANTS TO ONE SCALE. THE HIGHER THE AQI VALUE, THE GREATER THE HEALTH CONCERN.
WHEN POLLUTION LEVELS ARE ELEVATED... THE NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH RECOMMENDS THAT INDIVIDUALS CONSIDER LIMITING STRENUOUS OUTDOOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ADVERSE HEALTH EFFECTS. PEOPLE WHO MAY BE ESPECIALLY SENSITIVE TO THE EFFECTS OF ELEVATED LEVELS OF POLLUTANTS INCLUDE THE VERY YOUNG, AND THOSE WITH PRE-EXISTING RESPIRATORY PROBLEMS SUCH AS ASTHMA OR HEART DISEASE. THOSE WITH SYMPTOMS SHOULD CONSIDER CONSULTING THEIR PERSONAL PHYSICIAN.
A TOLL FREE AIR QUALITY HOTLINE HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED SO NEW YORK RESIDENTS CAN STAY INFORMED ON THE AIR QUALITY SITUATION. THE TOLL FREE NUMBER IS: 1 800 5 3 5, 1 3 4 5.
Uber
ReplyDeleteBeijing and New York smell like a lot of things
ReplyDeleteCome to think of it, I too noticed the air looked strangely foggy/misty. I didn't smell anything different though.
ReplyDeleteI live in Queens and the air pollution was off the charts Saturday evening and Sunday morning. This was even with my windows shut. I'm guessing something was going down with one of the power generators.
ReplyDeleteWho's to blame though?
ReplyDeleteLady Gaga.
ReplyDeleteFunnily enough, yesterday morning, I was way uptown at Riverbank Park (W. 145th) and the air smelled like coal smoke. Didn't see any smog and the smell was gone by 10, but it was odd. I had left the EV really early and didn't notice anything there when I left.
ReplyDeleteThis coming week, temps in the 50s - welcome to your local temperature inversion (cough, gasp, teary eyes, runny nose).
ReplyDeletep.s. The roses and the periwinkle are blooming!!!
Rented a car to go down to Philly for the day yesterday, and I also thought the sky looked very hazy. Looks like the ozone is okay today, but the particulates are bad: http://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=airnow.local_city&cityid=139
ReplyDeleteYesterday had less particulates: http://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=airnow.local_city&cityid=139&mapdate=20151206
At least we're not in beijing: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-35026363
A couple of guesses. perm-frost thawing in Alaska, Beijing billionaires have finally moved in to their $50+ apartments in midtown and brought that city's air with them, this is the result of too many bagel stores opening in the EV.....
ReplyDeleteHoly cow, I noticed this in McCarren park this morning when I was taking my kid to school. First I thought maybe my contacts were dirty because there was a gray haze over even nearby objects...then I thought fog because the Empire State bldg looked fogged over in the distance. This seems more sinister though. Wonder what gives.
ReplyDeleteNo idea if it would cause smog but the Indian Point nuclear plant had to shut down for a "relatively minor" issue a day or so ago.
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot DeBlasio!
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I've caught a "9/11 whiff" (very sensitive to that) now and then in the past week - wonder if it's the same.
ReplyDelete