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World Cup games face a growing climate threat

Smoke from the Palisades Fire rises over a ridge as seen from the Encino section of Los Angeles on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025. (Richard Vogel/AP)
Richard Vogel/AP
Smoke from the Palisades Fire rises over a ridge as seen from the Encino section of Los Angeles on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025. (Richard Vogel/AP)

Several World Cup host cities, including Los Angeles, Seattle, and Vancouver, face significant wildfire smoke risk. Yet, FIFA does not appear to have any protocol in place should a wildfire erupt in close proximity to one of the hosting venues.

Tik Root, senior staff writer at Grist, joins Here & Now’s Indira Lakshmanan to discuss the threat wildfire smoke poses to the World Cup and how FIFA can mitigate some of the risks.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2026 WBUR

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