Too hot to handle? Searing heat looming over 2026 Fifa World Cup

WITH less than six months to go before the 2026 World Cup kicks off, organisers are bracing for what could be their most challenging opponent yet: extreme heat.

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Soaring temperatures across the United States, Mexico and Canada pose safety issues for players and fans, along with a host of logistical challenges that remain far from settled.

In the depths of the US$5.5 billion SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, which will host eight World Cup matches, around 15 industrial misting fans more than two metres tall sit in storage, waiting to be deployed.

If temperatures climb above 26.7 Celsius, the fans will be rolled out around the stadium.

A roof suspended some 45 metres above the SoFi Stadium pitch offers shade for spectators, while large openings along the sides of the stadium allow breezes from the nearby Pacific Ocean to provide a form of natural air conditioning.

“Knowing that you can put 70 000 people into a building, the energy, the excitement, the activity that comes with that, and the higher temperature — that’s where we want to make sure we respond,” Otto Benedict, vice-president of operations for the company that manages the stadium, told AFP.

Not all of the World Cup's 16 stadiums are as modern.

And Southern California is not considered to be among the highest-risk areas for a competition scheduled from June 11 to July 19, three and a half years after a winter World Cup in Qatar.

Automatic cooling breaks

A study published in the International Journal of Biometeorology in January warned of “serious concern” for the health of players and match officials at the 2026 World Cup due to extreme heat.