Copa America played in smog so thick Chile declared an environmental emergency

Chile are going to play Uruguay in the Copa America quarterfinals on Wednesday, and they'll be doing so with some awful air quality. Santiago has declared an "environmental emergency" for super-thick pollution that probably isn't clearing up in the next two days, reports Peter Staunton of Goal.com. This means that some cars are banned from the road, factories have been shut down and people are being advised against strenuous outdoor activity.

The country's first environmental emergency since 1999 isn't stopping South America's championships, however.

"The Copa America respects the international commitments of Chile so it will not be suspended but we hope that for Wednesday the levels will go down," said Claudio Orrego, mayor of the Santiago region. "What is at stake here is the health of the people. We have really bad conditions in regard to the environmental and atmospheric conditions."

That means a bunch of people are going to have to sprint for 90 minutes while breathing this.

Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty Images

Yikes.