Topline
The FIFA World Cup final is expected to see moderate air quality in New Jersey on Sunday, with favorable forecasts lining up for the match as smoke from Canada’s wildfires traveled southeast and resulted in FIFA president Gianni Infantino meeting with White House officials on Friday to discuss health hazards for the final.
Key Facts
Infantino and the White House discussed “potential health dangers posed by wildfire smoke in the New York-New Jersey area,” according to a post by Sky News sports reporter Rob Harris on Friday.
Wildfire smoke shrouded the sky in New York City and New Jersey on Friday before some smoke lingered around the area Saturday morning.
The air quality forecast for East Rutherford, New Jersey, where the final will take place, is currently favorable for the start of game time Sunday, with a moderate air quality index of 80, according to IQAir, which says the area has unhealthy air quality for sensitive groups as of Saturday afternoon.
Tyler Roys, a senior meteorologist at AccuWeather, told ESPN a stormfront in the Northeast on Saturday will move much of the smoke out of the region by kickoff Sunday.
Though it is not expected, Sunday’s air quality forecast could possibly change for the worse, as 126 fires in Canada remain “out of control,” according to the country’s latest data, which says continued fire growth and wildfire smoke are expected to “continue over the coming days, with heavy smoke being emitted by many of the wildfires in western Ontario.”
Air quality forecasting considers some “quite unpredictable” factors, according to IQAir, which acknowledges the long-range transportation of pollution can further impact the accuracy of air quality forecasts.
Forbes has reached out to FIFA for comment.
Will The World Cup Final Be Postponed?
It appears unlikely. As health alerts have been issued amid the wildfire smoke in New York and New Jersey, FIFA is not concerned about the impact of poor air quality on the World Cup final as the weather forecast improves, according to unnamed sources who spoke to ESPN. The National Weather Service is expecting sunny conditions and a high of 82 degrees Fahrenheit for the game on Sunday.
Tangent
A Major League Soccer matchup between Chicago Fire and the Vancouver Whitecaps was canceled Thursday and moved to October after wildfire smoke created hazardous air quality in Chicago. The Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets game on Thursday was moved up by an hour due to air quality concerns in Philadelphia, which has continued experiencing poor air quality Friday.
Key Background
Over 950 fires are active in Canada as of Saturday afternoon. A Wednesday statement from Canadian fire officials said more fire growth and ignitions were expected in the coming days due to hot and dry weather. So far, over 120,000 people have been evacuated amid the blazes. Chicago and Detroit are the cities that have been most impacted by the smoke, experiencing air quality indexes in the hazardous range of 425 to 450, according to IQAir, which notes New York and Washington, D.C., have experienced unhealthy indexes around 180. IQAir expects air quality to improve by the weekend due to shifting winds, though it acknowledged “periodic smoke episodes may continue over the next few days, with additional plumes possible as long as wildfires remain active in Minnesota and Canada.”
Further Reading
Argentina-Spain World Cup Final Is Most Expensive U.S. Sporting Event Ever (Forbes)
Trump Will Meet FIFA Officials At Trump Tower Before Attending Final (Forbes)