The
World Cup is well underway
across North America, where
millions have traveled from
around the world in recent
weeks to watch their
favorite soccer teams hit
the pitch. This year’s
matches could break
records—but maybe not the
ones fans are hoping for.
At
least two games so far—in
Miami and Monterrey,
Mexico—were played amid what
experts say are unsafe
wet-bulb temperatures of 82
degrees or above, according
to an analysis from the
Guardian. And separate
scientific
reports
suggest this year’s
tournament could be one of
the hottest ever by
mid-July. Another
weather-related record was
already broken during
Monday’s match in
Philadelphia, as torrential
rain and lightning forced a
131-minute delay—the longest
in World Cup history.
In
response to heat risks,
FIFA, the World Cup
governing body, implemented
mandatory hydration breaks
midway through each half to
prevent heat-related illness
among players, regardless of
temperatures in each city.
But critics
question whether these
breaks are enough—or if
financial incentives played
a larger part in the
decision than health
concerns.
And
with the event on track to
be the most emissions-heavy
World Cup in history
by some estimates, experts
say organizers, players and
fans must better prepare for
hotter tournaments in the
future while working to
prevent them.
Soccer
in the Elements
The
United States last hosted
the men’s FIFA World Cup in
1994, which was largely
regarded as one of the most
heat-stressed tournaments in
history. During one match in
Orlando, 160
fans were treated for
heat-related illnesses as
temperatures reached roughly
90 degrees Fahrenheit.
Things
could be worse this year,
according to a report from
World Weather Attribution
that my
colleague Gabriel Matias
Castilho covered in
advance of the event. The
authors forecast that five
games will take place with
conditions meeting or
exceeding 82 degrees
Fahrenheit in wet bulb globe
temperature, which
incorporates additional
factors such as humidity and
direct sunlight.
Though
this threshold is cooler
than the point at which FIFA
will consider postponing the
game, the players’ union
said these conditions are
unsafe. Research shows such
temperatures can cause
light-headedness, fatigue
and heat stress, and even
impair players’
decision-making or focus.
The
expected number of
dangerously hot games is up
from three in similar
conditions in 1994, an
increase that is
significantly more likely
due to climate change, the
report said.
Heat
can also increase the risk
of wildfires, which can
worsen air quality,
threatening fans and players
alike. FIFA does not
currently have a clear plan
if the air quality worsens
during a game, Grist
recently reported.
Inside
Scoop: So far,
rain seems to be the most
logistically disruptive
weather to hit the games. My
colleague Jake Bolster
attended the France vs. Iraq
match in Philadelphia on
Monday amid a downpour that
deposited more than an inch
of rain over a roughly
two-hour delay in play. But
the storm didn’t bring down
the fans too much, he said.
“When
the rain did eventually
come, it brought thunder and
lightning with it, forcing
the sold-out crowd into the
bowls of the stadium,” Jake
told me. “You wouldn’t have
known anything other than a
party was happening in
there. During the prolonged
halftime break, Iraq fans
gathered in the concourse,
drums banging and chanting.
People sat on the floor
eating Philly cheesesteaks
and fries.”
My
colleague Steven Rodas
visited Mexico City last
week to attend the Colombia
vs. Uzbekistan match and a
few watch parties, which are
ubiquitous in bars, parks
and restaurants across the
16 host cities in Canada,
Mexico and the U.S. He said
temperatures that hovered
around the mid-70s made for
nice conditions at the
open-air stadium last
Wednesday. But concentrated
rainfall two days later
pummeled the city.
“Low-lying
areas around Mexico City
became small—some
large—pools of water that
cars navigated around or
plowed right through,” he
told me. “It was
hazardous—and downright
dangerous for any toddlers
out with parents.”
World
Cup organizers, players and
fans have been forced to
reckon with the event’s
climate vulnerability in
recent decades. The 2022
World Cup in Qatar was
hosted five months later
than usual to avoid
punishingly hot summer
conditions. Organizers also
implemented an array of
cooling interventions, such
as air conditioning and
shaded areas.
Some
players from countries with
consistently warm climates
may have a slight advantage
in the heat because their
bodies are more acclimatized
to it, though European teams
have started using special
technology to train in balmy
conditions to prepare, as
ESPN reports. But no
amount of training can help
players avoid the effects of
heat once certain
temperatures and humidity
levels are reached, experts
say.
In
December, FIFA announced
that matches will include
three-minute “hydration
breaks” midway through each
half to help combat the
heat. The new rule applies
regardless of temperatures
or whether stadiums are
equipped with air
conditioning, which has
drawn ire from critics who
say the breaks mess with the
flow of the game.
Others
told
the BBC that they
believe the breaks are
primarily a financial tool
to promote extra TV
advertising, with a single
30-second ad slot estimated
to cost at least $200,000.
Fans at several games have
booed during water breaks,
though Steven told me that
some spectators at the game
he attended took that time
to hydrate themselves and
refuel with snacks.
And
HEATED’s Emily Atkin recently
wrote that “even if
FIFA is exploiting the
climate rationale for ad
money, the climate rationale
still exists. The world is
getting hotter, and it is
threatening the safety of
World Cup players and
spectators.”
The
World Cup itself is
contributing to this risk. A
June assessment published by
global carbon accounting
platform Greenly estimates
the event could generate 7.8
million metric tons of
carbon dioxide, which is
equivalent to the yearly
emissions of 1.7 million
cars. That’s largely due to
the widespread air and car
travel associated with the
event.
On
the upside, this travel
boosts local economies in
host cities and introduces
people around the world to
new cultures—and new foods,
which has been providing endless
entertainment for me on
social media.
Jonathan
Casper, who studies the
environmental impact of
sports at North Carolina
State University, said
in a statement that
this type of global event
can “expose fans to
sustainable behaviors in
ways that feel normal,
social and practical,” such
as encouraging the use of
public transit. In
Philadelphia, the city’s
bike-share program reported
that June 19—the day
Brazil’s team took on
Haiti—was the highest
ridership day in the
system’s history.
But
Casper stressed that these
sustainable practices will
only stick if people have
access to them in their
daily lives.
“Composting
at a stadium does not carry
over if composting is not
available at home or work,”
Casper said. “Taking transit
to a match does not
necessarily change habits if
local transit is
unreliable.”
More
Top Climate News
At
least 40 people drowned in
France over the last week
amid a heat wave
sweeping across Europe, Samuel
Petrequin reports for The
Associated Press. Many
sought relief in local
waterways as the country
recorded its hottest average
day ever at 85.6 degrees
Fahrenheit on Tuesday, with
some areas topping 100
degrees. Other countries,
including the United Kingdom
and Spain, are also
sweltering, and officials
are warning of possible
school closures and major
transit delays due to heat.
It’s the second major heat
wave of the summer so far. I
covered
the last spell in May,
if you want to learn more.
A
contingent of former federal
workers relaunched a
climate-science website
that the Trump
administration took down
last year, Quinn
Glabicki reports for The
New York Times. The
site hosts data, reports,
articles and congressionally
mandated national climate
assessments that were once
available at Climate.gov,
managed by the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration. The newly
relaunched public website is
the latest in a series of
efforts to restore
science shuttered by the
Trump administration.
The managing director of the
new climate.us
was part of mass layoffs at
NOAA, and her team has been
working
on the site for months.
NOAA told The Times that
research “products
previously housed under
Climate.gov will be
available at NOAA.gov and
its affiliate websites.”
On
Tuesday, the head
of the United Nations
called on AI companies to
publicly disclose the full
environmental footprint of
data centers and
stressed these operations
should use only renewable
energy by 2030, Susanna
Twidale reports for
Reuters. The rise in
AI technologies around the
world has fueled a surge in
demand for these data
centers, which use massive
amounts of water and energy.
U.N. Secretary-General
António Guterres stressed
during an address at London
Climate Action Week that
these companies must
increase transparency about
their environmental
impacts.
“If
AI is to help build a better
future, it must be honest
about what it costs us now,”
Guterres said.
