‘Nowhere is safe now’: wildfire smoke brings climate crisis home to Americans

With the Empire State Building and the Lincoln Memorial blotted out, the US is experiencing the climate catastrophe first-hand

The unnerving sight of New York City’s skies turning a dystopian orange from wildfire smoke is just the latest in a barrage of recent distress signals that life in the US is starting to fray under the relentless pressure of the climate crisis, experts have warned.

On Wednesday, New York held the dubious title of having the worst air quality in the world, with Detroit in second place, as plumes of smoke from hundreds of fires in Ontario and Quebec were carried south by a stiff breeze.