With the sun obstructed by haze, Spain’s players practiced Thursday ahead of the World Cup final outside in northern New Jersey while air conditions are hazardous because of smoke from Canadian wildfires.
Air Quality Concerns
It was not clear how fast-paced a practice Spain held. Media members are only able to observe the first 15 minutes of what was scheduled to be a hourlong session in East Hanover beginning at 11 a.m. EDT. Argentina remained in the Atlanta area to work out less than 24 hours after rallying to beat England and reach the final for a second consecutive tournament.
Officials urged people to stay inside or wear masks outside as air quality reached unhealthy to hazardous levels, meaning it’s unhealthy for anyone, regardless of health conditions. Experts expressed concern over holding practice outdoors. “These are high-level athletes who are moving a lot of air through their lungs during every practice in every game, and really they shouldn’t be practicing outside if the air quality levels are at hazardous sort of ranges for wildfire-related air pollution,” said Dr. Courtney Howard, an emergency room physician and Global Climate and Health Alliance official.
Messages sent to FIFA and the Spanish Football Association asking whether that was considered or possible were not immediately returned. The smoke is expected to clear the area well before the championship game Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with kickoff scheduled for 3 p.m.
Health Risks
Smoke from wildfires — which are burning more of North America as Earth warms — 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’s weakest points, which can then cascade into different effects of an immune system trying to fight a nasty irritant, doctors and scientists said.
“It’s not healthy for anyone to be in the smoke, especially if you’re exercising,” Harvard School of Public Health environmental health research scientist Mary Johnson said. “You’re exchanging more air, so you’re being exposed to even more pollutants, and even healthy individuals at some point will have some type of health effect from the exposure to the smoke. So, even though these are healthy, young individuals, it’s not a good idea to be exercising in this type of environment.”
Original reporting: Texarkana Gazette — read the source article.
