Wildfire smoke looms over the FIFA World Cup final
Smoke from Canadian wildfires has blanketed much of the north-eastern United States, including the open-air stadium set to host 80,000 people for the World Cup final on Monday morning AEST.
New York City’s air quality ranked fifth-worst in the world earlier this week, triggering health alerts.
Experts fear if hazy and hot conditions remain until Monday they could prove challenging for players in the final.
“Unrelenting heat and humidity, coupled with poor air quality, can impact those that are 80 (years old), of course, but it can also impact a very fit 20-year-old that’s a World Cup athlete,” pulmonologist Dr Vin Gupta said.
He urges FIFA to have “different rules applied than in a typical World Cup game,” suggesting more frequent hydration breaks. However, expected rain over the weekend may help dissipate the dangerous haze in time for the much-awaited Spain-Argentina final.
“It’s going to rain a lot, we think, on Saturday. And so that should dissipate a lot of the smoke,” AccuWeather meteorologist Alex DaSilva predicts.
Read more: https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/canada-wildfires-smoke-us-world-cup/rtstcrbjm
SBS News is Australia’s trusted news source for the latest news from Australia and across the world.
Subscribe to the SBS News YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@SBSNews
Follow SBS News on Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/sbsnews_au" target="_blank" rel=”nofollow”>https://www.instagram.com/sbsnews_au
Follow SBS News on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sbsnews_au
Follow SBS News on X: https://www.twitter.com/SBSNews
Follow SBS News on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sbsnews
Apple News: https://trib.al/MTx0gUe
For the latest news, visit www.sbs.com.au/news
Network Terms & Conditions: https://sbs.com.au/terms
Privacy Policy: https://sbs.com.au/privacy
Feedback or complaints: https://sbs.com.au/complaints
