NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Mikel Merino can smell and see the smoke from the Canadian wildfires that are making for hazy conditions across large parts of the U.S., including northern New Jersey where he and Spain are set to face Argentina in on Sunday.
Merino is trying not to focus on it.
It remains unclear how much, if at all, the smoke will affect the final. The World Health Organization forecast calls for an improvement to in East Rutherford.
鈥淔or a game that is as important as a World Cup final, you have to be able to shut out external factors as much as possible,鈥� Merino said Friday. 鈥淟uckily, we are being careful with every detail thanks to the federation and the organizers of the World Cup.鈥�
in hazardous conditions in East Hanover, New Jersey, on Thursday, alarming experts who thought the team should have held the session inside instead. Messages sent to FIFA and the Spanish Football Association asking whether that was considered or possible were not returned.
Air quality improved Friday, but the uncertainty lies in what will follow what could be up to 1.25 inches (3.17 centimeters) of rain expected to fall Saturday.
鈥淔ollowing that, it looks like there is another smoky air mass following in behind that system, but it鈥檚 not clear right now how much or how it might reach New York or New Jersey, when it comes to actually Sunday,鈥� said Mark Parrington, senior scientist at the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service. 鈥淚f the fire intensity really picks up again through (Saturday), it鈥檚 possible it puts more smoke into the atmosphere that then might quickly follow that rain event.鈥�
Jonathan Belles, Senior Meteorologist for The Weather Channel app and weather.com, expects to have improved confidence in the forecast as game time gets closer.
鈥淭he question is whether smoke behind that (rain) system reaches ground level over northern New Jersey on Sunday and, if so, how concentrated it becomes,鈥� Belles said. 鈥淐urrent forecast models range from little to no ground level smoke to levels that could become more concerning for players and fans.鈥�
Smoke from wildfires 鈥� which are burning more of North America as Earth warms 鈥� attacks nearly every system in the body, killing tens of thousands of people a year, numerous medical studies show.
It attacks the body immediately, spiking asthma cases with increased ambulance runs within hours. Smoke can trigger inflammation in different parts of the body, often attacking a person鈥檚 weakest points, which can then cascade into different effects of an immune system trying to fight a nasty irritant, doctors and scientists say.
There could be an impact on players’ performance even if the air conditions are moderate, according to University of California, San Diego professor of medicine Chantal Darquenne.
鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of a dose dependent effect,” Darquenne said. “If it鈥檚 moderate, it鈥檚 going to be less of an effect, but it鈥檚 still going to be there, especially because they are doing vigorous exercise during these events.鈥�
President Donald Trump is set to meet with FIFA President Gianni Infantino later Friday. Members of the administration, including Andrew Giuliani, the executive director of the White House FIFA Task Force, have been discussing the matter with soccer’s governing body and monitoring the wildfire situation, according to a White House official. The person was granted anonymity to confirm internal discussions.
Roughly 80,000 fans are expected at the final, which takes place in the large, open-air stadium in the Meadowlands that is home to the NFL’s New York Giants and Jets.
鈥淭here鈥檚 the obvious sort of respiratory illness, cardiovascular issues, vulnerable people with asthma and things like this,鈥� Parrington said. 鈥淭hen for sure they鈥檙e going to feel the effects.鈥�
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SNTV videographer Davidde Corran in East Hanover, New Jersey, AP White House reporter Seung Min Kim and AP Science Writer Seth Borenstein in Washington and AP Sports Writer Jim Vertuno in Austin, Texas, contributed to this report.
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