A Hazy Day in New York Town

On most mornings Gothamist enjoys a view of the Empire State Building and the rest of midtown as we cross Malcolm X Blvd. With this morning's haze he had to squint and use his imagination. Haze is usually a mixture of aerosols and photochemical smog, but is more generally thought of as particles, like soot or salt, suspended in the air reducing visibility.

Haze is greatest when the air is near saturation, as that's when deliquescence (one of our favorite words) of tiny particulates occurs. Think of deliquescence as tiny solids aborbins so much water that they dissolve. As particles deliquesce the scattering of sunlight increases and visibility decreases. If you don't have a window view you can still keep up with the haze over the Hudson via a back door cold front passes through our area, possibly resulting in heavy rains late this afternoon.