World Cup to Shift Seasons in 2022 to Avoid Qatar's Summer Heat
The world’s soccer governing body changed the season of the 2022 FIFA World Cup from late spring to winter on Thursday, March 19.
It is the first time the quadrennial tournament has been moved. The change takes the World Cup from the hottest time of the year in Qatar, the host country, to a much cooler time in the winter. The final will be played on Dec. 18.
Traditionally, the World Cup has been held in about late May to late June or early July. The Qatar bid for the 2022 World Cup was for mid-June to mid-July.
The vote, which took place at FIFA’s March 19-20 meeting, comes on the heels of the first-ever cooling breaks during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Referees were able to order the breaks if the wet bulb temperature rises higher than 32 C (90 F).
In Doha, Qatar, the normal high from June 15 to July 4 is 41.3 C (106 F) with a normal low around 28 C (83 F). From July 5 to July 20, the normal highs are 41.5 C (107 F) with a low of 29 C (84 F).
“However, highs do routinely hit in the 43-46 C (110-115 F) range during this time with nighttime lows only as low as 32-35 C (90-95 F),” AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Jason Nicholls said. “The record high for June is 49 C (120.2 F) and the record for July is 48.2 C (118.8 F).”
It is much cooler in November and December, the time period to which FIFA moved 2022 World Cup play.
The normal highs start at 29 C (84 F) and lower to 24 C (76 F) by mid-December, Nicholls said. The normal lows start at 19 C (67 F) and lower to 15 C (59 F) by mid-December.
The record high for November is 38 C (100 F) and for December is 32.2 C (90 F).
During the 2014 World Cup, two cooling breaks were ordered during the contest between the Netherlands and Mexico in Fortaleza when the temperature hit 32 C (90 F) and the humidity reached 68 percent.
No such breaks had occurred in the 20 previous World Cup finals, FIFA said.
The next World Cup is scheduled from June 14 to July 15, 2016, across 11 cities in Russia.
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