As the smoke from wildfires in Canada triggered air quality alerts throughout the northern United States, sports events on the East Coast have already begun to be affected.
The NWSL announced at 2:32 pm EST that the Wednesday night match between NJ/NY Gotham and Orlando Pride would be postponed until Aug. 9 because of air quality conditions at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.
However, the status of MLB games in New York, Philadelphia and Washington, DC remain uncertain. MLB reportedly already began to monitor the air quality situation around midday, according to the Washington Post’s Jesse Dougherty. The Yankees later said they and other affected teams will meet at 4 pm ET to discuss their options in the wake of the weather, according to the New York Daily News’ Gary Phillips.
Meanwhile, this was Yankee Stadium five hours before the scheduled start of the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox game:
Both teams already played Tuesday night when the air quality index (AQI) in the Bronx near Yankee Stadium reached as high as 191, according to AirNow.gov. That’s well above the unhealthy level for sensitive groups and bordering on unhealthy for all individuals. For reference, an AQI of 0-50 is “good,” while anything above 101 is bad. Above 300 is considered “hazardous” for everyone.
By 3 pm Wednesday, the AQI in the Bronx rose to 348, per AirNow.gov.
The Yankees lost that game to the White Sox, 3-2, on Tuesday night despite an eery blanket of smoky air hanging overhead. That same day, New York City’s air quality shot up to the worst in the world among major cities because of the effects of the wildfires.
Yankees managed Aaron Boone told The Athletic on Tuesday he “didn’t really think much about it other than that it looked odd out there” and it reminded him of the smog in Southern California, while Yankees third baseman Josh Donaldson added that the air ” seemed like it was a little foggy out there but nothing out of the ordinary.”
The last time MLB postponed games due to poor air quality was in 2020 when wildfires in Washington and Oregon forced the league to move games between the Seattle Mariners and San Francisco Giants. Those games were eventually moved to San Francisco.
Minor league games in Syracuse, New York, and Scranton, Pennsylvania, had already been postponed Tuesday due to air quality concerns in those regions.
The New York Mets, who play in nearby Citi Field, have two games on the road against the Atlanta Braves before they return to Queens on Friday to face the Pittsburgh Pirates.