Rain May Ease Smoke Ahead of World Cup Final in New York and Washington

According to Lianhe Zaobao citing Bloomberg, New York and Washington are expected to get heavy rain that could improve air quality worsened by Canadian wildfires, making conditions feel more comfortable when the World Cup final is held on Sunday, July 19. New York City is forecast to see rain and thunderstorms on Saturday afternoon and evening, which may help reduce the severe haze pollution expected around the Spain-Argentina final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Sunday. A senior forecast officer at the U.S. Weather Prediction Center, Hurley, said air quality in the northern Midwest will remain very poor on Saturday even as conditions begin to improve in the East and Northeast. He said air quality problems for Sunday's World Cup match will improve significantly, but not disappear entirely. New York City and northern New Jersey are also under flood watches, with damaging winds above 60 mph (97 kph) posing the biggest risk and some areas expected to receive as much as 4 inches (about 101 mm) of rain.