Liberty game postponed as NYC battles air quality issues from wildfire smoke

The New York Liberty will have to wait to face the Minnesota Lynx. 

The Wednesday matchup was postponed because of air quality issues in New York City due to the ongoing wildfires in Canada.

The team made the announcement just hours before the Liberty and Lynx were scheduled to tip off at Barclays Center. 

“The city has been placed under an Air Quality Health Advisory until Thursday morning. This decision has been made to protect the health and safety of our fans, teams and community,” the team said in a statement. 

The game will be rescheduled for a later date. 

A report from WNBA analyst Rachel Galligan surfaced shortly after 4 p.m. that the game would be postponed and WNBA reporter Howard Megdal added that smoke had entered Barclays Center.

The fact smoke had made its way inside the arena would explain the postponement, but the club did not directly address that in its statement. 

“Tonight’s game against the Minnesota Lynx has been postponed due to the poor air quality in the New York City area impacting Barclays Center following the wildfires in Canada,” the Liberty said. 

The Liberty game was the first of two New York sporting events postponed due to the ongoing air quality issue.

The Yankees postponed their scheduled game with the Chicago White Sox at Yankee Stadium only a few minutes after the Liberty. 

New York’s WNBA franchise had been scheduled to host Minnesota at 7 p.m. for the team’s first game of June and seventh of the season.

The superstar-laden Liberty, which boasts Breanna Stewart among its offseason signings, are 4-2 to open the season.

https://twitter.com/nyliberty/status/1666546201443852288

New York City’s air quality has been a major concern for health officials over the past few days.

The city was in an orange haze during the day on Wednesday and the air quality index was at 353 out of 500 during the early afternoon, which is considered very unhealthy.