New York (AFP) – Dense wildfire smoke billowing down from Canada set off unhealthy air quality alerts across the United States again Friday, fomenting concern over the weekend's World Cup final outside New York.
Issued on: 17/07/2026 - 17:06
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Detroit and Chicago posted air quality index readings in the "hazardous" range, with tracker IQAir saying they were the top polluted cities in the world.Winds drifting south meant the capital Washington was also hard-hit, 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 neighboring New Jersey, where the final will be played on Sunday in an open stadium, the metro area was experiencing "unhealthy" air conditions after smog on Thursday made the Manhattan skyline barely visible.Forecasters at the National Weather Service warned "the smoke may thicken again in the overnight into Saturday morning.""What we should start to see is a return of northwesterly winds over the Great Lakes, and that's going to pick up some of that smoke and push it over the Northeast," Peter Mullinax, a meteorologist for NWS, told AFP.But he said forecasts are not anticipating air quality on Sunday in the Northeast US to be as bad as experienced during the week."The extent of the really thick smoke we're seeing, we shouldn't be seeing necessarily that kind of smoke" during the match, he said, even if hazy skies persist."I don't believe that this should be as impactful as if you might be playing a game today."Weekend rain could also help alleviate the worst of the smoke, said Mark Parrington, a scientist at the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service."We just have to see whether those fires continue in the same scale," he told AFP. In cities across the 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 that's 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."Climate change connection
