Hazy skies from wildfire smoke unlikely to cancel World Cup final in New Jersey

Hazy skies from wildfire smoke unlikely to cancel World Cup final in New Jersey

Forecasts shows air quality index expected to get better by Sunday

While hazy skies and poor air quality continue to impact a wide swath of Canada and the U.S., forecasts show conditions are expected to improve in time for the FIFA World Cup 2026 final in New Jersey on Sunday.

Soccer powerhouses Argentina and Spain are set to face off at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., across the river from New York City.

The air quality in the city was deemed "unhealthy for sensitive groups" as of midday Saturday, according to AirNow, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's website for tracking air quality data. Conditions are expected to be moderate by Sunday, as northwesterly winds push lingering smoke from Canadian wildfires out of the region, the website says.

Swiss air quality technology company IQAir is also forecasting an improvement in the air quality index for East Rutherford by Sunday.

On Thursday, a thick haze tinged with orange and yellow darkened skies across several states and partly obscured Manhattan's skyline.

Officials from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and other northeast states distributed free K95 face masks, cancelled outdoor programming and opened libraries and other public buildings as cooling centres where people could get a respite from the sooty air.

As Friday progressed, air quality measures improved from "unhealthy" to "moderate" in some places in and around New York City. A strong sun broke through a thin veil of smoke, and clear blue sky was visible across much of the region by Friday afternoon.

Ahead of World Cup final, Canadian wildfire smoke raises health concerns in U.S.

Something 'epic' needed to cancel match

FIFA told Reuters on Friday that the air quality conditions did not currently represent a threat to the World Cup final. CBC News has reached out to FIFA for comment on whether officials have considered postponing the match.

But Joshua Kloke, a staff writer with The Athletic who has been covering the World Cup, says it would take something extreme for FIFA to call the game off.

"It would take some kind of epic monsoon — the likes of which North America has never seen — to cancel a World Cup final," he said in an interview with CBC News Network.

Kloke added that the two teams facing off on Sunday are used to playing in challenging weather conditions.

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'Very poor air quality' in store for GTA Friday night, possibly Saturday as wildfire smoke returns

"They would've played some games in some pretty brutal conditions throughout this summer throughout the United States just in terms of heat. So I can't see it being cancelled for any reason."

That being said, organizers could choose to postpone it for a few hours to wait for conditions to improve, he said.

The weather did disrupt Spain's training session on Saturday, however. The players moved indoors for a warm-up session because of storms and lightning in the East Hanover area. There was no immediate indication if the team would try to get back outside for a full session.

The U.S. National Weather Service is forecasting sunny conditions with a high of about 28 C for the area on Sunday.

Canada facing Trump's ire over wildfires

The weather conditions prompted the ire of U.S. President Donald Trump, along with a chorus of Republican politicians, after hundreds of active wildfires in Canada triggered air quality warnings for states close to the Great Lakes.

Trump threatened to increase import tariffs on Canada over the "unnecessary invasion" of smoke that has drifted south of the border.

"We are holding Canada responsible for the fact that they are not properly maintaining their Forests, and Brush therein, and the United States is being unnecessarily invaded by filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air," the president wrote in a social media post on Friday.

Trump threatens Canada with increased tariffs over wildfire smoke

Trump said Friday he intends to call Prime Minister Mark Carney to discuss the "unnecessary" situation.

The president's comments come after four Michigan members of the House of Representatives wrote a letter to Carney slamming Canada's federal and provincial governments over what they argue is inaction in preventing wildfires.

Carney did not directly comment on the letter when asked about it by reporters on Thursday, but he took a jab at the current U.S. administration's climate change policies.

The two leaders will likely meet at the World Cup final on Sunday.

Sarah Petz is a Toronto-based senior writer with the CBC News live pages team. Born and raised in Manitoba, her career has taken her across three provinces, multiple cities and to northern Uganda.

With files from Reuters and The Associated Press