Air Quality Index readings in Berkeley reached 187 on Wednesday. Based on the NCAA’s own regulations, if the air quality gets much worse in the Bay Area, there’s a real chance Cal and Stanford could be postponed.
From the NCAA’s website:
“Specifically, schools should consider removing sensitive athletes from outdoor practice or competition venues at an AQI over 100. At AQIs of over 150, all athletes should be closely monitored. All athletes should be removed from outdoor practice or competition venues at AQIs of 200 or above.”
Cal said Berkeley’s AQI reading Thursday morning was 155 but the school is hopeful Friday’s 7 p.m. scheduled start time will help.
“AQI numbers from smoke are highly dependent on wind direction and can change rapidly,” Cal said in a statement. “While prior data doesn’t predict the future, over the past few days, the AQI has tended to decline into the evening hours and fell into the 80s (moderate level) by 7 p.m. Wednesday.”