One in four games at this year’s FIFA World Cup could take place in dangerous heat, researchers said yesterday.
Concerns about heat have already prompted FIFA to mandate a cooling break during each half of the World Cup matches that are to take place between June 11 and July 19 in 16 stadiums across the US, Mexico and Canada.
“Players and fans face a much higher risk of grueling heat and humidity at the 2026 World Cup compared to the 1994 tournament on the same continent,” World Weather Attribution (WWA), a network of climate scientists, said in a statement.
Photo: AFP
WWA’s scientific analysis estimates that 26 of the 104 matches could be played in conditions reaching at least 26°C on the wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) index, which measures how effectively the human body can cool itself under heat, humidity, sun exposure and wind.
At 26°C WBGT, the International Federation of Professional Footballers (FIFPRO) recommends cooling breaks as heat strain becomes a risk for players.
Of those 26 matches, 17 are to be played in stadiums with cooling systems, reducing risks for players and fans.
During the 1994 World Cup hosted by the US, 21 games would have been expected to reach a similar heat threshold, WWA said.
Five games are expected to be played in conditions of 28°C WBGT or higher, a level that FIFPRO said should lead to the delay or postponement of matches until conditions are safer for players and fans.
That risk has nearly doubled compared with the 1994 World Cup.
“It’s dangerous for players, but of course there are also the fans who might gather outdoors and they are at even more risk because they will not be taken care of by a lot of medical doctors,” said WWA cofounder Friederike Otto, a climate science professor at Imperial College London.
Three of the 16 stadiums — AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas; and the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia — have air-conditioning.
However, more than one-third of the games with a one in 10 chance of exceeding 26°C would take place in venues without air-conditioning.
The final, which is to be played on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, has a one in eight chance of seeing 26°C WBGT conditions and a 2.7 percent risk of 28°C, WWA said.
“That the World Cup Final itself — one of the biggest sporting occasions on the planet — faces a non-insignificant risk of being played in ‘cancelation-level’ heat should be a wake-up call for FIFA and fans,” Otto said.
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