\n Highly anticipated sporting events like the Cleveland Guardians game against the Pittsburgh Pirates and the RowFest National Championships in Michigan were called off or postponed.\n <\/p>\n
![\"Smoke](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ap26198688546948.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n But one question looms as thick as the smoke itself: Will the air pollution be a problem for the World Cup final on Sunday afternoon in New York City?\n <\/p>\n
\n The good news: The heaviest smoke could clear out of the region ahead of the final. The bad news: Some less dense, thinner smoke plumes could move into the area.\n <\/p>\n
\n DC resident Abigail Nguyen planned to watch the World Cup on the National Mall with thousands of other soccer fans. Now she says she\u2019ll just watch it with her roommates at home.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cI can\u2019t really get the full effect and energy of the crowd, which is so sad, because we should be celebrating this summer event instead of being holed up inside,\u201d she said.\n <\/p>\n
\n Residents from Minnesota to Washington, DC, told CNN the noxious air has disrupted their lives, seeping into everything from their health and leisure to their businesses and family life.\n <\/p>\n
\n Officials in a handful of states most impacted advised residents to stay indoors and to wear masks if they need to leave their homes.\n <\/p>\n
\n For some, the shutdowns and masking guidance brought flashbacks of the COVID-19 pandemic about six years ago. Others like Cotton were reminded of past natural disasters, leaving them wary of stepping outside.\n <\/p>\n
\n Communities across parts of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast will face poor air quality until Saturday afternoon, when a storm system arrives to help clear the air.\n <\/p>\n
![\"Smoke](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/gettyimages-2286546190.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Milwaukee, Chicago and Detroit had some of the worst air quality in the country Friday morning, but dangerous levels of pollution stretched into southern Ohio and West Virginia.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cChicago is currently experiencing its worst air quality in recorded history,\u201d the mayor\u2019s office said in a social media post<\/a> Thursday evening. \u201cPlease stay indoors, and if you must go outdoors, use a well-fitted N95 or KN95 mask for your safety.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n The Detroit Health Department<\/a> is offering free masks to residents and encouraging everyone to stay inside. In Philadelphia, \u201ceveryone is likely to experience health effects from being exposed\u201d to smoke in the air, officials warned in a news release<\/a> Friday.\n <\/p>\n \n In the nation\u2019s capital, DC Health is distributing masks to government personnel working outside, the department told CNN on Friday. Government outdoor activities have been canceled and outdoor pools and spray parks have closed, it added.\n <\/p>\n \n On Friday, it took Cotton twice as long to drive as traffic swelled in DC, with most choosing to drive rather than walk through smoke-filled streets. She then arrived at her daughter\u2019s summer camp to find outdoor activities had been canceled.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThe kids showed up in their swimsuits but could not go outside to play because of how bad the air quality and smoke was,\u201d she said. \u201cAll the kids had meltdowns.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Nguyen was excited to enjoy a warm summer outdoors before the smoke left her hesitant to step outside for her routine runs to the National Mall and daily walks with her dog.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cI can\u2019t see three blocks down. Everything is so hazy outside. My eyes were actually stinging a bit,\u201d she said. \u201cYou can tell the air is harder to breathe from the smoke. I\u2019ve never experienced this type of air before.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n A California transplant who lives in Pennsylvania, Coty Jen, said she has \u201cexperienced way more wildfires than I want to.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cI have my air filter on, and I\u2019m still wearing an N95 mask in my office,\u201d said Jen, a chemical engineering professor at Carnegie Mellon University. \u201cIt comes in through the seams of the window, through the doors. It\u2019s all-encompassing, and it makes my lungs hurt. It gives me headaches.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n While some businesses relying on summer traffic have been forced to temporarily close their doors, others refuse to let the smoke alter their plans.\n <\/p>\n \n The Northern Lakes Arts Association in Ely, Minnesota, is opening its production of \u201cJesus Christ Superstar\u201d Friday night as wildfires rage across the state.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cLet\u2019s create a space where community can gather and have an experience together,\u201d Ian Francis Lah, the executive artistic director, told CNN. \u201cAnd hopefully offer them a reprieve from the smoke and the fire, and then the constant dread of who knows what tomorrow is going to bring.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Vulnerable communities, including those with health conditions and people who are unhoused or work outdoors, have endured disproportionate effects from the unsafe air quality.\n <\/p>\n \n In Pittsburgh, community workers are checking on unhoused individuals more often and adding masks to hygiene kits they distribute, said Jerrel Gilliam, executive director of Pittsburgh nonprofit Light of Life Rescue Mission.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cHomelessness becomes even more dangerous in weather like this because of dehydration. People are sweating and they\u2019re not able to replenish the water, and so they\u2019re at risk,\u201d Gilliam said.\n <\/p>\n \n And in Ohio, Dr. Megan Conroy said she anticipates helping patients with asthma through the weekend and into next week.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cMy patients will tell me \u2026 they are noticing those symptoms, having to take their rescue medications and be very cognizant of their activities,\u201d the pulmonologist said.\n <\/p>\n \n A quick-hitting rainstorm will bring winds from the south, pushing the smoke to the north and ushering in fresher air by Saturday evening.\n <\/p>\n \n Behind the system, winds from the north could bring more smoke into the region Sunday afternoon, though it won\u2019t be nearly as thick and overwhelming as the plumes the area has seen over the last few days.\n <\/p>\n \n What\u2019s the weather looking like for the World Cup this weekend?\n <\/p>\n \n The storms in New York City Saturday afternoon and evening could produce some heavy downpours and a risk for brief flash flooding in urban areas but should clear the area by Sunday morning. It should set the stage for pleasant conditions on Sunday afternoon for the match between Argentina and Spain, with temperatures in the low 80s.\n <\/p>\n \n Skies should be clear, though potentially still hazy from lingering smoke not as close to the ground. The air quality should improve compared to the past couple of days.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Erin Cotton didn\u2019t notice the smoke until her eyes started to water and her two children complained they…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":770031,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[192,79],"class_list":["post-770030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/770030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=770030"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/770030\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/770031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=770030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=770030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=770030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ap26198766942402.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/gettyimages-2286432375.jpg\")
<\/p>\n