Athlete performance and longevity, important calls made by referees and coaches, spectator health and satisfaction; all these factors are negatively affected by poor air quality. According to a study conducted by World Athletics, the international governing body of athletics, athletes of all disciplines are in fact a group disproportionately affected by worsening air pollution due to their higher respiratory rate during exercise and faster airflow [1].

The effect on professional sport is becoming all too apparent, but the fact that sporting events in general contribute significantly to worsening air quality, through traffic and fan activity, only exacerbates the problem.

First, it is important to define what air pollution is. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the European Environment Agency, there are six common air pollutants: ground-level ozone (or smog), particulate matter (such as PM2.5 or PM10), NO2 (resulting from fuel combustion), carbon monoxide (from vehicles burning fossil fuels), lead pollution, and sulphur dioxide; all, to varying degrees, harmful to humans [2] [3].

Although research in this field is still in its early stages, a recent comprehensive study [4] published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health — an open-access scientific journal established in 2004 that focuses on all facets of environmental and public health sciences — examined the effects of air quality on athletic performance across various American sports disciplines.

The study considered health data from 632 observations of MLB (Major League Baseball) teams from 1999 to 2020. The main purpose was to determine whether air pollution, as measured by the Air Quality Index (AQI), had an effect on errors made by teams and umpires. Errors in a game were chosen as the main indicator, as they represent an objective measure of when players make physical or mental mistakes, which can be influenced by environmental factors such as pollution.

MLB is the oldest of America’s representative sports leagues, and at one time also the most watched, but since the 1960s it has been reached and then largely overtaken by football (NFL) and now shares with basketball (NBA) the title of the second national sport.

A series of very complicated rules, customs and traditions inherited over more than a century of history nevertheless make it a very popular sport in certain circumscribed areas of the world (Japan and Central America for example), but at the same time the least popular outside the United States among the big leagues made in the USA [5].

Coming back to paper [4], the results of the linear regression model produced by the authors showed that the AQI is a significant predictor of the errors committed: as the AQI increases (thus with worsening air quality), the number of errors also increases.

For every one-point increase in the AQI, errors per game increase by approximately 0.000993, a small but significant value when multiplied by the entire season [4]. For example, a team playing in a city with a significantly worse AQI than the national average, like Phoenix in Arizona for example, could accumulate up to 10 more errors over the course of the season [4]. These additional errors seem few in the face of a 162-game season, but they could greatly influence the overall ranking of the team in question.

The worsening air quality thus seems to directly affect the cognitive and physical performance of the players, who must rely on both capabilities to excel in the game. This suggests that the reduced ability to concentrate due to exposure to pollutants such as fine particulate matter (PM2.5) could lead to an increased likelihood of making mistakes, especially in high-pressure situations during a game [4].

The results of the analysis have profound implications for the management of baseball teams. Playing in areas with poorer air quality could therefore not only have negative effects on the long-term health of athletes, but also directly affect team performance. Additional mistakes in a season could jeopardies the achievement of league goals, with potential economic fallouts, especially for teams that regularly play in cities with poor air quality.

Fig. 1: Coors Field (Denver, Colorado, USA) during a Colorado Rockies game. Free image from Pixabay.

For this reason, it will be important for franchises to consider taking measures to improve air quality on game days, such as: measuring the air quality of the match venue before the event, formulating a plan to improve public transport to stadiums, and working closely with local authorities to implement concrete and lasting actions to improve air quality.

Providing this data and practical guidance to the public could also motivate fans and local communities to make concrete commitments to reduce air pollution in order to encourage better performances by their teams. Improving environmental conditions could result in fewer mistakes and better results for teams, demonstrating how environmental health and sports performance are closely linked.

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Cover image: Ball and baseball glove on a green lawn. Free image from Pixabay.