Cars travel across the Delaware Memorial Bridge as wildfire smoke from Canada causes hazy conditions.
Heavy, acrid wildfire smoke blanketed much of the eastern United States on Saturday, marring preparations for the weekend's highly anticipated World Cup final to be held in an open stadium in New Jersey.
Wildfires burning in Canada have sent noxious smog billowing across the border, with residents in New York, Washington, D.C., and the American Midwest urged to stay indoors because of dangerously poor air quality.
At one point on Saturday, the smoke made New York the most polluted city in the world, followed closely by Toronto and Washington, according to air-quality tracker IQAir.
The marquee World Cup match, pitting Argentina against Spain, will be played Sunday in an open-air stadium across the river from Manhattan, where the skyline was obscured by dense smoke and people wore masks outdoors.
Tournament organizers are "monitoring closely," White House World Cup task force Executive Director Andrew Giuliani told a briefing.
But a respite of sorts was expected in the form of heavy storms hitting the Big Apple on Saturday, which could wash some of the smoke away—but also trigger flash flooding and dangerous winds.
Smoke from Canadian wildfires fills the sky in New York City shortly before the World Cup final match is held across the river in the state of New Jersey.
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani asked residents to stay indoors and avoid travel.
"Thunderstorms are expected to bring damaging winds strong enough to knock down trees and power lines, along with heavy rainfall that could cause flash flooding," Mamdani wrote on X.
"Smoke will continue to affect the area through this afternoon," the U.S. National Weather Service said.
In Washington, the city's Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management said air quality was "unhealthy for at-risk groups," including children and older adults, urging people to limit time outdoors.
More than 950 wildfires were raging across Canada as of Saturday morning, the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System reported.
U.S. President Donald Trump has blamed Canada for the smoke pollution, threatening to impose additional tariffs and accusing the northern neighbor of "willful negligence" by "not properly maintaining" its forests.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford blasted the accusations as shameful and "absolutely unacceptable," noting that Canadian crews have routinely deployed to U.S. states to help with wildfire and other emergency operations.
"You don't get on and start threatening and criticizing because guess what? One day it's going to be your turn," Ford, without mentioning Trump by name, told journalists in Thunder Bay, where many residents have evacuated.
"We're going to be down there without hesitation to support our neighbors—which we should be," he added.
Advocates have stressed the connection between repeated episodes of wildfire smoke and climate change.
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