Wildfire Smoke Blankets Millions Across the US as World Cup Final Nears

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. ΓÇö: Smoke from hundreds of Canadian wildfires has engulfed vast stretches of the US Midwest, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, leaving millions of people under air-quality alerts and raising questions about conditions for Sunday's World Cup final just outside New York City.

A thick haze has hung over the region for days, dimming skylines from Chicago to New York and pushing air quality in some cities to hazardous levels. At one point on Friday, New York rated as having the worst air quality of any major city in the world. Officials in the city warned that pollution had reached a level dangerous for every resident, while nearby Philadelphia declared a "Code Purple" air-quality emergency, cautioning that everyone ΓÇö not just vulnerable groups ΓÇö could feel the effects.

A vast plume from the north

The smoke has drifted more than a thousand miles south from nearly 900 active wildfires burning across Canada, with the heaviest concentrations forecast across parts of Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia. At least 18 states have had air-quality alerts in place, with readings ranging from "unhealthy for sensitive groups" to "unhealthy," and localized pockets forecast to reach "very unhealthy." It marked the third consecutive day of dense smoke across much of the Midwest and Northeast.

The final in the crosshairs

The timing put the spotlight on MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey ΓÇö branded the New York New Jersey Stadium for the tournament ΓÇö where Spain and Argentina are set to contest the final at 3 p.m. Eastern on Sunday. A visible haze hung over the twin host states through the weekend, and inclement weather added further disruption.

FIFA said it was in close contact with local authorities and monitoring the impact of both the smoke and passing storms on stadium conditions. FIFA president Gianni Infantino met White House officials on Friday to discuss the potential health dangers posed by the smoke in the New York-New Jersey area. According to reports, the governing body was not ultimately alarmed about the match itself as the forecast improved.

A break in the weather

Forecasters offered some relief: thunderstorms moving through the area were expected to scour much of the haze from New Jersey just in time for kickoff, with the air-quality forecast for East Rutherford easing to a moderate level around game time and the National Weather Service calling for sunny skies. The improving outlook appeared to head off the prospect of a postponement, an option some experts had floated if conditions worsened.

The storms brought their own complications. Spain's final training session at a nearby facility was suspended because of lightning, in line with US storm-safety protocols, sending players into an indoor warm-up with no alternative slot available. Argentina completed an outdoor session at its scheduled time, with the squad showing no concern about the air or the weather.

Why the smoke matters

Health researchers have found that the fine particulate matter in wildfire smoke can be more toxic than ordinary urban pollution, carrying higher concentrations of inflammatory compounds that penetrate deep into the lungs. People with asthma, COPD, heart disease and other conditions face the greatest risk. Elite athletes are, paradoxically, among the more vulnerable during a smoke event, because heavy exertion drives them to breathe in far more air ΓÇö and more particulates ΓÇö than a person at rest.

What to watch

Even as the Northeast braced for improvement, the broader fire picture remained volatile. Meteorologists warned that thousands of lightning strikes in the Pacific Northwest could ignite new blazes, and Canadian officials said heavy smoke was likely to keep pouring off fires in western Ontario in the days ahead. For now, attention turns to whether the promised clearing holds through Sunday afternoon ΓÇö and to the match itself.