New Yorkers won’t forget the day the sky turned orange in 2023. Smoke from Canadian wildfires choked the city, turning the air toxic and the skyline unrecognizable. For some, it was an unreal, almost cinematic moment. For others, it was a health emergency. For my family and me, it was a warning.
I was raised in Flatbush, a few blocks away from Kings County Hospital and SUNY Downstate. My younger brother has asthma, and for years I’ve watched him rely on inhalers and breathing treatments to get through the day. During the wildfire in the summer of 2023, like many others with respiratory conditions, my brother was suddenly more vulnerable simply by stepping outside. Emergency rooms across the city saw spikes in asthma-related visits as air quality plummeted. Poor air quality not only disrupts individuals' daily lives but may also pose a significant health threat.
Wildfire smoke is one aspect of climate change that continues to affect New Yorkers. There are multiple environmental events that have an adverse health effect on individuals, especially those residing in neighborhoods that are currently facing disadvantages and social disparities. Climate change is already reshaping life in New York City in ways that are both visible and deadly. Flooding has also become a major public health issue in New York City, following the heavy rainfall in Hurricane Ida, which became fatal for 11 residents, who drowned in their basements. Research has also conducted studies that have shown that during months of flooding events, there is an increase in injury-related and infectious disease death rates. Climate change often leaves disadvantaged communities at greater risk due to inadequate resources. The patterns are warnings that we continue to ignore.
Climate change poses a future threat to many NYC residents and continues to shape health outcomes, though it does not affect New Yorkers equally. Communities like Flatbush, often home to Black and brown residents, face disproportionate risks. Limited access to healthcare, aging infrastructure, and fewer resources make it harder to prepare for and recover from environmental disasters. The result is a cycle where the most vulnerable populations bear the greatest burden of a crisis.
Emergency response is not the only effective way to protect public health. This requires better air quality and emergency response policies; It is crucial to develop health protection and prevention methods that focus on the disproportion communities. This is not just about the environment; it’s about equity, health and survival.
Public health does not just affect an individual, but it affects an entire community. I still think about the look in my brother’s eyes that day; the anxiety of not knowing whether the air he was breathing was safe. The orange sky was not just a spectacle. It was a signal; it’s time to call for action.
Jephane Toussaint, a Brooklyn native, is obtaining her master’s in Public Health at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University.
