The FIFA World Cup Trophy is seen on July 15 at Hudson Yards amidst the wildfire smoke haze that has blanketed the New York City area. (Photo by Jordan Bank – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
FIFA via Getty Images
“Smoking hot” may be great words to hear before a date. Not so much before a FIFA World Cup Final, though, like the one that will take place at New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on July 19. On Wednesday, the double-whammy of wildfire smoke and heat has been kicking the balls, butts and other body parts of New Yorkers and New Jerseans just four days before Spain will try to wrestle the Cup away from the defending champions, Argentina.
Canada Wildfire Smoke Is Leading To Health Alerts In The New York City Area
Now, as they say, where there’s smoke, there’s fire. And in this case, the smoke is coming from once again a bunch of wildfires. These fires have been burning in northern Minnesota and Western Ontario, Canada.
That’s led to big plumes of smoke drifting across the Midwestern, Northeastern and MidAtlantic portions of the United States. And where’s there’s smoke, there can be bad air quality—with air quality indices jumping to the 151 to 200 range for an unhealthy rating in many parts of these portions and as high as 201 to 300 for a very unhealthy rating in some parts including New York City. Air in the unhealthy range means that “some members of the general public may experience health effects” whereas air in the very unhealthy range means that “the risk of health effects is increased for everyone,” as I have described in Forbes previously.
The particular problem with wildfire smoke is the particulate matter that’s in it, particularly the so-called “fine inhalable particles” or PM2.5. These are the very small particles that are 2.5 micrometers or smaller—and they may be far from “fine” for your lungs and cardiovascular system, as I detailed last year in Forbes. These particles can trigger breathing problems and increase the risk of heart attacks and stroke.
Therefore, when the air quality reaches unhealthy or worse levels, it is better to stay indoors and avoid vigorous activities outdoors. This isn’t the time to do prancercise or have sex outside. Instead, maybe do it inside with an air purifier with a high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter running.
And everybody knows that an N95 or P100 face mask can keep small particles from reaching your nose and mouth—or at least everybody should know. Regardless of what you may hear from politicians, such face masks do work to keep smoke or different viruses from reaching your respiratory tract. All of this means that it is a good idea to check air quality reports each day.
New York City is in a ‘Code Red’ Due To Heat
You also may have read that Wednesday saw NYC reach Code Red status due to the anticipation that heat indices might reach triple digits. The NYC Government has set up a Beat the Heat website that includes tips on, guess what, how to beat the heat like drinking plenty of water often, wear light, loose-fitting clothes, staying in the shade, taking breaks in cool or air-conditioned spaces every 15–30 minutes, and avoiding alcohol, caffeine, and sugary drinks. Yeah, this is probably not the best time to sport those skinny jeans.
The website also listed potential signs of a heat stroke including high body temperature, confusion, dizziness, disorientation, nausea, vomiting, a
rapid pulse, hot and dry skin or unconsciousness. Falling unconscious is typically not a good sign of anything, unless you just saw Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. And here’s something cool—the city has set up cooling centers that can be located via a cooling center locator.
The Wildfire Smoke May Clear And Temperatures May Fall By The World Cup Final
The smoking hot conditions will likely remain through Friday. The humidity is expected to ease up a bit on Thursday but the smoke could get denser. Things could begin to break on Saturday with expected showers and thunderstorms and temperatures dropping to the 80-degree range.
If you are a football fan—meaning a soccer fan—you are probably wondering what’s going to happen on Sunday when La Roja battles La Albiceleste. Will it be a messy or a Messi situation? Will Spain’s star winger Lamine Yamal get hot or will it be too hot outside? Well, the weather forecast does say that temperatures should be in the mid 80s with partly sunny skies.