5:24 p.m. ET, June 7, 2023
Schools across the Northeast cancel outdoor activities due to poor air quality
From CNN’s Lindy Royce-Bartlett, Laura Ly and Dugald McConnell
The White House is seen through hazy skies caused by Canadian wildfires on June 7, in Washington, DC.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Schools across the Northeast are canceling outdoor activities on Wednesday due to poor air quality. Here are some of the announcements:
New York: New York City’s public schools are open but will be canceling all outdoor events, the school district said in a statement on its website.
Chappaqua Central School District in Westchester County, New York, is dismissing all of its students early on Wednesday due to the ongoing air quality conditions, according to an announcement on the district’s website. While a Board of Education meeting will proceed as scheduled, all after-school activities have been canceled, the district said.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is urging other school districts across the state to also cancel their outdoor activities, according to a statement from her office.
“My administration has been in contact with the cities of Syracuse, Rochester and New York. I support their decisions and the decisions of other districts to suspend outdoor school activities and strongly urge those who have not yet done so to follow suit,” Hochul said.
Washington, DC: Public schools canceled outdoor activities Wednesday. “This includes recess, outdoor Physical Education classes, athletic practices and competitions, and any school-specific events or field trips intended for the outdoors,”
DC Public Schools said in a tweet. The city is noticeably smoky throughout the area due to wildfires in Canada.
Montgomery County, Maryland: Outdoor activities are canceled for Wednesday and Thursday, and any field trips will need to be rescheduled, according to a message from the school district. The county includes several suburbs of Washington, DC, including Bethesda and Rockville. The public school district has over 158,000 students and is the largest school system in Maryland.
Fairfax County, Virginia: All afternoon and evening outdoor activities for the Fairfax County Public School District in Virginia have been canceled Wednesday, due to ongoing poor air quality, according to an announcement on the school district’s website.
The activities include extracurriculars, interscholastic contests, team practices, after-school programs and recreation programs, the district said.
