Candian wildfires are currently blanketing the northeastern U.S. with smoke, polluting the air quality and wildly changing the aesthetic. The internet is abuzz with discussions about how eerie and downright apocalyptic New York City looks in the orange haze that is swallowing skyscrapers. In fact, it’s reminding people of one of the most depressing sci-fi franchises ever to grace the screen.
Here’s a shot of Lower Manhattan, where even the World Trade Center is disappearing:
Does it remind you of anything? If you’re having trouble, maybe picture Harrison Ford and flying cars. The rest of Twitter sure is:
That’s right — the future has finally arrived, and it sucks! New York City looks a lot like the abandoned Las Vegas setting in Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049, where replicant Joe (played by Ryan Gosling) travels to find Deckard (Harrison Ford) to get answers about a child who may be the next step in robot evolution.
In real life, though, this is a massive problem for Canadian firefighters up north and for people with underlying health issues downwind in the US. Per ABC News, Canada has seen more than 8.7 million acres burned so far this wildfire season, which equals an area larger than the state of Vermont. And the current blaze has triggered serious air-quality alerts in at least 16 U.S. states.
Today, New York City is apparently experiencing the worst air quality recorded this century:
It seems that pretty much everyone under the blanket of smoke is being encouraged to stay indoors, where they’re happily living on Twitter instead:
We encourage all of you with an air-quality alert to keep your lungs safe — and if you’re feeling on theme today, go ahead and rewatch the Blade Runner films in anticipation of Amazon’s new Blade Runner TV series. We’ll try to resist the urge to leave an origami unicorn outside your door, but no promises.