There’s One Big Threat Hanging Over This Year’s World Cup

LOS ANGELES (AP) — As global temperatures rise, extreme heat could threaten athletes, fans, workers and officials during this year’s World Cup games.

Sixteen cities across the United States, Mexico and Canada will be hosting the 2026 World Cup in June and July. On average, July is the hottest month of the year for the contiguous U.S., according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and it’s only gotten warmer since record-keeping began in 1895.

Wet bulb globe temperatures, which factor humidity, wind speed, sun angle and more, could exceed 90 F (32 C) in the afternoons in the Texas cities of Dallas and Houston and Monterrey, Mexico, research shows.

“Almost all of the host locations, 14 out of 16 of them, experience levels of extreme heat, which could be potentially dangerous to players, match officials and possibly spectators,” said Donal Mullan, a senior lecturer at Queen’s University Belfast who led a paper last year examining the heat risks of this year’s host cities. Some stadiums have the advantage of being fully covered, reducing the risks.

Exposure to heat, amplified during exertion, can lead to nausea, dehydration, headaches, stroke and, in extreme cases, death. Worries from some that millions of people could be exposed during the tournament were amplified in March, when record-breaking temperatures hit large swaths of the U.S.

And with global temperatures rising because of pollution from burning oil, gas and coal, scientists have warned that staging soccer tournaments in the summer is getting more dangerous.

The 2022 World Cup tournament in Qatar was moved from summer to winter because of the threat of extreme heat. Last year’s Club World Cup experienced a heat wave that sent temperatures soaring into the 90s F (32s C) and above in many areas.

Following the event, the soccer players’ global union warned that extreme heat would likely be an even bigger problem at the next two men’s World Cups. The 2030 World Cup will be co-hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco.

This year, host cities, stadiums and FIFA, the world governing body for soccer, are working to protect players and spectators by conducting heat risk assessments, enhancing shade, cooling zones and water access, stationing medical teams during events and more.

Some plans are still being finalized, but here’s a look at what to expect inside stadiums and at outdoor events:

Players will get 3-minute hydration breaks midway through each half, regardless of weather conditions, FIFA said. Other welfare plans include allowing teams the usual of up to five substitutions, a minimum of three rest days between matches, and staff and substitutes will have access to climate-controlled benches at outdoor matches. Climate conditions are factored into the match schedule.

“Outdoor matches during the hottest parts of the day have been strategically limited, kick-off times adjusted in certain markets, and matches expected in warmer windows prioritized for covered stadiums where possible,” FIFA said.

The federation has also created a Heat Illness Mitigation and Management Task Force made of medical and operational experts. Ahead of the games, they are finalizing heat-risk alert systems, coordinating stadium medical action plans and other standardized guidance.

Officials will be monitoring weather conditions and be prepared to activate extreme heat plans if they determine that temperatures are too hot. If activated, plans will include sending out public safety messaging on how to protect yourself from heat and how to recognize signs of heat exhaustion and stroke.

If Canada’s federal agency, Environment and Climate Change Canada, issues an official heat warning, for instance, the city of Vancouver will add more temporary drinking fountains, handwashing and misting stations outside to complement its multilanguage heat awareness campaign.

Along main tournament and festival routes, volunteers will also be providing heat safety information to attendees and workers.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said it will be disseminating heat safety and proper hydration information leading up to and during the games. It will also be launching a heat dashboard for the public with near-real-time data on heat-related emergency room visits in the county.

New York City will be prepared to send out notifications in 14 different languages to its 1.5 million public warning subscribers, as well as international visitors on the Everbridge app and WhatsApp channels.

Educational campaigns are helpful for promoting hydration, use of shade and more, but research shows passively disseminating information doesn’t always have the intended effect, said William Adams, assistant professor in kinesiology at Michigan State University who researches exertional heat stress among athletes. It requires a more active approach, but that isn’t really feasible with large events like this one, he said.

Medical personnel will also be stationed and available in FIFA Fan Festivals and around several stadiums during matches to manage heat-related illnesses, including at the Toronto Stadium in Canada and the Dallas Stadium in Texas.

At Dallas’ outdoor events, all medical professionals will have access to ice and ice immersion bags, and the city’s festival site — where people can watch live matches — will also have two medical stations in climate-controlled locations.

Cities and stadiums will be increasing access to shade, cooling areas and water for spectators and workers.

In addition to being ready to implement its heat and smoke response plans if necessary, the Seattle Office of Emergency Management in Washington State is exploring using air-conditioned buses, tents and water misters at fan fests and matches.

In Vancouver, there will be shaded seating areas at all the various tournament events and locations around the city.

Volunteers and workers at outside events in Dallas will have mandated rest and hydration breaks. And officials will be working with volunteer organizations to hand out water.

These combined efforts hope to reduce heat‑related illnesses and help minimize strain on local hospitals during the tournament.

Some stadiums are covered, such as Canada’s BC Place Vancouver stadium that will host seven games. It is “one of only four 2026 World Cup stadiums which are fully covered so players and fans will not be exposed to weather conditions while inside the stadium,” the City of Vancouver said in a statement.

The Dallas venue has air conditioning and is also enclosed, “so we don’t anticipate any weather-related issues inside,” said Tim Ciesco with the Arlington Police Department.

In Santa Clara, Calif., all matches will be played in the evening, when weather conditions are cooler.

Elliot Arthur-Worsop, founding director For Football for Future, a group focused on creating environmental sustainability in soccer, said the tournament’s organizers have a responsibility to keep people safe. “That’s a social contract that exists between the fans and football governing bodies,” he said. In a climate report they published ahead of this year’s games, they found heat and other climate risks will intensify in most stadiums hosting games in 2050.

“By the next time the World Cup comes back and is awarded in this part of the world,” he said, “it will have to be structured differently and adapted.”

Associated Press writers Graham Dunbar and Seth Borenstein contributed to this report.