Several games including Major League Baseball, the National Women’s Soccer League, and the Women’s National Basketball Association were postponed on Wednesday due to poor air quality caused by the smoke from Canadian wildfires. The New York Yankees’ game against the Chicago White Sox and the Philadelphia Phillies’ game against the Detroit Tigers were both rescheduled for Thursday. The National Weather Service issued an air quality alert for New York City and a Code Red warning for Philadelphia.
The decision to postpone the games was made after conversations between medical and weather experts and all of the impacted clubs. The New York State Department of Health recommended that individuals limit outdoor physical activity to reduce the risk of adverse health effects.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that they immediately canceled batting practice and did their activities inside. Phillies manager Rob Thomson believed that the game would be played, but the decision was made to postpone it. The Philadelphia skyline was not visible from the ballpark due to the haze, and a smoky smell remained.
The WNBA also postponed a game between the Minnesota Lynx and New York Liberty to protect the health and safety of fans, teams, and the community. The National Women’s Soccer League postponed Orlando’s match at Gotham in Harrison, New Jersey, from Wednesday night to August 9th. The match could not be safely conducted based on the projected air quality index.
Belmont Park, the New York Racing Association, said that training went on as planned ahead of Saturday’s Triple Crown horse race. They use external weather services and advanced on-site equipment to monitor weather conditions and air quality in and around Belmont Park. Training was conducted normally on Wednesday, and the New York Racing Association will continue to assess the overall environment to ensure the safety of training and racing throughout the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival.
New York’s NFL teams, the Giants and Jets, both had Wednesday off from offseason workouts. The Giants had been planning to practice inside on Thursday, and the Jets said they are likely to work out indoors on Thursday.
The games scheduled in New York and Philadelphia were postponed due to poor air quality caused by smoke from Canadian wildfires. The decision to postpone the games was made after conversations between medical and weather experts and all of the impacted clubs. Health authorities recommended limiting outdoor physical activity to reduce the risk of adverse health effects. The WNBA and the National Women’s Soccer League also postponed games due to the projected air quality index. Belmont Park continued their training as planned with the use of external weather services and advanced on-site equipment to monitor weather conditions and air quality.
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