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.
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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 National 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.
What’s the latest update from FIFA?
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 National 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.
Prior to that, Mexico’s round-of-32 match against Ecuador was delayed for an hour due to stormy weather.
Concerns about extreme heat in July prompted forecasters to warn about potential heat safety issues for some of the World Cup knockout matches. A powerful “heat dome” settled over large parts of the US and Canada, bringing with it furnace-like conditions and temperatures expected to exceed 43 degrees Celsius (110F) in several host cities.
Is the Canadian wildfire connected to climate change?
In cities across the US Midwest and Northeast, people wore masks outdoors to filter out the dangerous air. In New York, libraries and train stations were handing them out for free.
The upper Midwest, which is closer to the fires, was especially affected, with parts of Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin all recording air quality readings deep into the “hazardous” range for days.
The NWS extended its air quality alert in Chicago through Friday, adding “wildfire smoke may return tomorrow evening and continue into Sunday.”
Advocates have stressed the connection between repeated episodes of wildfire smoke and climate change.
“Increasingly smoky skies underscore the importance of a rapid transition to clean energy rather than building more polluting fossil fuel infrastructure that further contributes to climate change,” said Paul Mathewson, the science programme director at the organisation Clean Wisconsin, among the states that have seen a sharp uptick in smoky days in recent years.
Mark Parrington, a scientist at the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, told AFP that climate change was providing conditions for a longer fire season, with higher surface air temperatures and lower soil moisture.
So, he explained, “when there’s an ignition we see these really large-scale, persistent burning where these fires can burn for weeks and weeks at a time through summer.”
Has the Canadian wildfire been controlled?
The blazes were worsening on Friday in Canada, where more than 200 fires were burning out of control, especially in Ontario, according to authorities there.
The damage remains far off the pace of 2023, Canada’s worst wildfire season on record, when nearly 18 million hectares (44 million acres) burned in the country.
But the intensity has rapidly escalated over the past week, with nearly 2.8 million hectares (7 million acres) burned since the start of the year, per the latest government figures. As of last Friday, that figure had stood at nearly 1.6 million hectares (4 million acres).
Fires in Ontario have not caused any casualties, and several remote communities have been evacuated.
