A group of climate scientists known as the World Weather Attribution group is pointing to climate change fueled by fossil fuel use as the driving force behind dangerous heat and humidity conditions affecting the ongoing World Cup tournament.
Saturday’s match between Paraguay and France is scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m. ET in Philadelphia, with temperatures expected to exceed the safety thresholds set by FIFPRO, the world players’ union. The extreme conditions are the result of a heat dome that has settled over large portions of the United States and parts of Canada.
The U.S. National Weather Service issued a warning this week that the heat dome — a high-pressure system that traps hot air close to the ground — could push heat index readings between 105 and 115 degrees Fahrenheit across parts of the Midwest and East Coast. Several World Cup host cities fall within the affected zone.
Beyond the soccer tournament, the dangerous heat is also threatening to overload power grids and put a damper on outdoor Fourth of July celebrations as the United States marks its 250th anniversary this holiday weekend.
Friederike Otto, Professor of Climate Science at the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial College London, issued a pointed statement about the situation: “When a historic Fourth of July celebration is disrupted, and World Cup matches are played in conditions that are unsafe for players and fans, it shouldn’t take another scientific study to wake people up.”
Otto continued: “Climate change is here, it’s already impacting the things we enjoy in our everyday lives, and it will continue to get worse the longer we drag out the inevitable transition to net zero emissions.”
The issue of heat at major soccer events is not new. FIFPRO raised serious concerns about dangerous temperatures at the Club World Cup, which was also held in the United States, just a year ago. In December, FIFPRO acknowledged that FIFA had made efforts to “align the competition schedule planning and venue selection with the concerns around player health” for the World Cup, but noted that certain matches still carried health risks.
“The lesson for everyone in the industry is that with a warming planet, heat conditions will play a bigger part in tournament and league scheduling decisions in the future,” FIFPRO stated.
Despite the growing concern, soccer’s global governing body FIFA currently has no rule in place that would automatically force the postponement of a match due to extreme heat. FIFA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
