It’s honestly been fucking baffling watching people be like “I didn’t wear a mask during covid I ain’t wearing one now” like alright bro breathe that toxic smoke ig, you do you.
Like, at least with covid it wasn’t visible. The virus isn’t visible, you don’t show that you caught it till later, and sick and dying people usually aren’t super visible to the public. But this is smoke in the air!!! You can see it! When you breathe in it hurts! Immediately!
Have they come so far they now just completely disagree with the idea that it’s possible to filter the air you breathe? Are they about to start rejecting germ theory? Return to humoral theory?
Yeah, and I'm probably underestimating it too. Lots of areas inland were affected as well.
The NYC centric focus is probably just because it's such an iconic place, and the sky scrapers make for an extra dramatic visual effect. It's also where it was the worst for a bit (in addition to Philly) so it naturally had the most dramatic effect on photos too.
Like, I've lived on the West Coast so this is unfortunately old news to me at this point, but this is probably the first time these East Coasters have seen such man made horrors. People out west are genuinely traumatized by wildfires, you can hear it when people who evacuated describe it. Their entire demeanor changes, and there's a broad sense of doom we all get during fire season that's palpable in the air, not at all unlike the smoke itself. This is the East Coast's first time experiencing it though - it makes sense that it is making an impact.