Will the Canadian wildfire smoke affect Spain vs Argentina World Cup final?
World Cup organisers are monitoring the situation ‘closely’, with US and FIFA presidents meeting on Friday. The World Cup final in New Jersey-New York hangs
World Cup organisers are monitoring the situation ‘closely’, with US and FIFA presidents meeting on Friday. The World Cup final in New Jersey-New York hangs under a cloud of uncertainty as dense wildfire smoke billowing down from Canada has triggered unhealthy air quality alerts across the United States. Winds drifting south meant the capital, Washington DC, was also hard-hit on Friday, coming in at the second-highest “very unhealthy” ranking on the index, when authorities urge all people to avoid unnecessary outdoor activity. In New York and neighbouring New Jersey, where the final will be played on Sunday in an open stadium, the metro area was experiencing air that could be unhealthy for sensitive groups, an improvement after smog on Thursday made the Manhattan skyline barely visible. Detroit and Chicago posted air quality index readings in the “hazardous” range, with tracker IQAir stating they were the most polluted cities in the world. Forecasters at the Weather Service warned the smoke may thicken overnight into Saturday morning. Roughly 80,000 fans are expected at the final, which takes place in the large, open-air stadium in the Meadowlands that is home to the NFL’s New York Giants and Jets. FIFA confirmed on Friday that negative air quality from the wildfires did not currently represent a threat to the World Cup final.
Earlier in the day, tournament organisers said they were “monitoring the situation closely”. “There’s been discussion about it, and we have somebody with the Weather Service that sits in FIFA headquarters there, so we’re monitoring closely,” White House World Cup task force Executive Director Andrew Giuliani told a briefing. President Donald Trump is set to meet FIFA President Gianni Infantino later on Friday. What are experts saying about the smoke? Peter Mullinax, a meteorologist for NWS, told the AFP news agency that winds over the Great Lakes could push more smoke into the northeastern US, which could keep skies hazy. But he said forecasts for that region are expecting some improvement. “I don’t believe that this should be as impactful as if you might be playing a game today,” Mullinax said. The issue for the final, said Joel Dreessen – an air quality forecaster for the state of Maryland, is whether more smoke spills south after weekend storm systems. “Some of the models are starting to indicate that we’ll start to pull down some smoke,” he said. Were any other matches affected by the weather? Yes, but not because of wildfire smoke. Mexico’s knockout match against England was rumoured to be rescheduled due to inclement weather before organisers quietened the uproar and confirmed kickoff would be as scheduled.
The BriefWire