Smoke on the water: Saturday’s rain may clear the air for World Cup final

Smoke from the Canadian wildfires that engulfed the Northeast United States in a haze hardly let up in Greater Boston.

But Saturday’s rain may have cleared the skies just in time for the World Cup final in New Jersey on Sunday.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection issued an air quality alert that the fine particles from smoke across the entire state averaged at a level “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups,” which includes people “with lung or heart disease, older adults, and children.”

Fine particulates that are 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter (PM2.5) were tracked at a level of 130, which the agency rates as in the middle of the 101-150 “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups,” at multiple locations in the city and in nearby municipalities.

The U.S. Air Quality Index also recorded a 130 rating for much of the region but the city itself was rated at 166 near South Station, with nearby locations including Quincy, Chelsea, and Lynn hovering around 160 PM2.5. This concentration falls under the “Unhealthy” category.

Similar warnings were issued throughout much of the country Saturday.

At MetLife Stadium, where the World Cup final is scheduled to take place, the sky was the same thick, soupy gray it has been for days, even after a drenching thunderstorm prompted warnings of flash flooding and forced the Spanish national team to suspend its last outdoor training session ahead of the clash with Argentina.

Saturday’s storm front will largely move the smoke out of the Northeast before the final between Spain and Argentina, said Tyler Roys, a senior meteorologist at AccuWeather.

“There could be some lingering smoke that would make things hazy, but very faint,” Roys said. “In terms of the thickest smoke, the smoke that has really been eye-popping and leads to poor air quality, that is not expected across New York City or much of the Northeast.”

The air quality index shows an improvement from unhealthy air for sensitive groups on Saturday to “moderate” air quality Sunday in East Rutherford, which means little to no health risk for the general public.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.