NEW YORK — A haze of smoke has taken over New York City, New Jersey, and the surrounding areas.

Smoke from Canadian wildfires poured into the U.S. East Coast and Midwest on Wednesday, covering cities of both nations in an unhealthy haze, holding up flights at major airports and prompting people to fish out pandemic-era face masks.

Mayor Eric Adams urged New Yorkers to stay indoors if they can and to use a mask if they must go outside. He described the situation as “unprecedented” and “alarming.”

The Air Quality Index in NYC hit 484 at 5 p.m., Mayor Adams said. The index tops out at 500.

Over in New Jersey, conditions weren’t much better. Smoke from wildfires in Canada blanketed parts of northern New Jersey on Wednesday afternoon and made the iconic city skyline near impossible to make out.

See some of the sights around NYC as the smoke and haze continue.

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Pedestrians pass the One World Trade Center, center, amidst a smokey haze from wildfires in Canada, Wednesday, June 7, 2023, in New York.
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People view New York City in a haze-filled sky from the Empire State Building observatory, Wednesday, June 7, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
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New York City is covered in haze as photographed from the Empire State Building observatory, Wednesday, June 7, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
The sun rises over a hazy New York City skyline as seen from Jersey City, N.J., Wednesday, June 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
The sun rises over a hazy New York City skyline as seen from Jersey City, N.J., Wednesday, June 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
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New York Yankees’ Clarke Schmidt pitches to Chicago White Sox’s Tim Anderson during the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, June 6, 2023, in the Bronx. The smoke-filled sky is seen overhead. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
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A Southwest airliner approaches LaGuardia Airport in New York, Wednesday, June 7, 2023. The Federal Aviation Administration paused some flights bound for LaGuardia Airport and slowed planes to Newark Liberty and Philadelphia because the smoke from wildfires in Canada was limiting visibility. (AP Photo/David R. Martin)
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A pedestrian walks past the smoke and haze shrouded New York Stock Exchange building in New York City Wednesday, June 7, 2023. (AP Photo/J. David Ake)
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A man wears a mask as he crosses an intersection in a haze-filled sky of Manhattan, New York, Wednesday, June 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
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An aerial view shows New York City in a haze-filled sky from the Empire State Building observatory, Wednesday, June 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
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A man talks on his phone as he looks through the haze at the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee, N.J., Wednesday, June 7, 2023. Intense Canadian wildfires are blanketing the northeastern U.S. in a dystopian haze, turning the air acrid, the sky yellowish gray and prompting warnings for vulnerable populations to stay inside. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)