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Nearly a million people have descended on London to watch the games of the XXX Olympiad. At least 17,000 athletes from over 200 countries will participate in 26 sports. But with athletes concentrating on winning the highest prize in their discipline, do they also be need to worrying about the atmosphere? Most likely.

On Thursday, just one day before the official opening of the London Games, the UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs issued a warning as the level of pollutants reached high levels on Wednesday and Thursday, and were likely to continue for at least 24 hours.

The Guardian is reporting that "the smog warning follows a few days of sunshine, which has intensified the impact of pollutants such as ground level ozone and nitrogen oxides, from traffic fumes."

Simon Birkett, founder and director of the campaign group Clean Air in London, said that this is the worst 'summer smog' for years.

"The government must ensure people are warned and advised," Birkett said. "It must also publish the full forecast information that is included in daily briefings to the London Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games so that athletes and teams can make their own assessment of potential health risks."

Pollution levels are likely to be highest in London, but some other part of England and Wales could be affected.

2012 Olympians should be especially concerned with the summer smog, according to experts.

"Athletes are thought to be especially vulnerable to the effects of ground level ozone and other air pollutants because they are breathing in very high volumes of air," said Gary Fuller, an air quality expert at King's College London. "It's something that might affect their performance on the day."

Officials reassured the public that most people would be unaffected, but the very old and young, and those who already suffer from breathing difficulties, heart or lung problems or asthma could be at risk.

According to the Guardian, this is the first serious warning since new laws on informing the public of high pollution levels came into effect in 2008, and said the UK's worst summer smogs in recent memory occurred in August 2003 and June-July 2006.