--- title: "West Coast Wildfire Smoke Hits NYC, Causing Weird-Looking Sunsets" description: "Smoke from the devastating wildfires that have swept across the West Coast this past week has now reportedly drifted all the way across the United States." date: "2020-09-16" modified: "2020-09-16" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/wildfire-smoke-nyc" categories: - "Environment" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "environment" - "the digest" - "weather" - "wildfires" --- # West Coast Wildfire Smoke Hits NYC, Causing Weird-Looking Sunsets ![Smoke from the devastating wildfires that have swept across the West Coast this past week has now reportedly drifted all the way across the United States.]() *\Image: Tag Hartman-Simkins\* ## Fire in the Sky Smoke from the devastating wildfires that have swept across the West Coast this past week has now reportedly drifted all the way across the United States — manifesting as as a haze and intense, reddish sunsets. A photo taken by a Futurism staffer last night in Queens shows the setting sun hanging in the sky like an eerie, reddish-orange dot. ## Expect Haze In a tweet [highlighted by *Gothamist*](), the National Weather Service confirmed that the unusual conditions are indeed likely caused by smoke that's made its way thousands of miles across the country. https://twitter.com/NWSNewYorkNY/status/1305666259141312514 The haze and odd-looking sun don't hold a candle to the [apocalyptic skies]() that the fires caused in the Bay Area last week, but they are a striking reminder that the impact of an environmental crisis can quickly move from one part of the world to another. ## Blow Away Thankfully, according to community weather organization New York Metro Weather, the smoke is [tens of thousands of feet high]() by now, meaning that it's unlikely to affect air quality on the ground level. According to meteorologists, a cold front will likely push the smoke out of the NYC metro area on Friday. https://twitter.com/ErickAdameOnTV/status/1305829980342026240 **READ MORE:** [Smokey Haze From Unprecedented West Coast Fires Sweeps Over NYC Skies]() \[*Gothamist*\] **More on the West Coast fires:** [*Scientists Warn That Fires, Extreme Weather Events Are Getting Worse*]() ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()