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NDTV
3 hours ago
- Climate
- NDTV
Explainer: How Climate Change May Force FIFA To Rethink World Cup Calendar
Geneva: Soccer had a fierce reckoning with heat at the recently concluded in the United States - a sweltering preview of what players and fans may face when the US co-hosts the World Cup with Mexico and Canada next summer. With temperatures rising worldwide, scientists warn that staging the World Cup and other soccer tournaments in the Northern Hemisphere summer is getting increasingly dangerous for both players and spectators. Some suggest that FIFA may have to consider adjusting the soccer calendar to reduce the risk of heat-related illnesses. "The deeper we go in the decade, the greater the risk without considering more dramatic measures, such as playing in the winter months and/or cooler latitudes," said Professor Piers Forster, director of the Priestley Centre for Climate Futures in Leeds, England. "I'm getting increasingly worried that we are only one heatwave away from a sporting tragedy and I would like to see governing bodies lean into the climate and health science." Tournament soccer in June and July is a tradition going back to the first World Cup in 1930. Since then, the three-month period of June, July and August globally has, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Meanwhile, European summer temperatures have increased by 1.81 degrees celsius(1.89 degrees Fahrenheit). The rate of warming has accelerated since the 1990's. Climate scientists say that's a factor that needs to be considered when playing high-intensity outdoor sports like soccer. "If you want to play football for 10 hours a day, they'll have to be the hours of the early morning and late evening," climatologist Friederike Otto from Imperial College, London, told The Associated Press in an email, "if you don't want to have players and fans die from heatstroke or get severely ill with heat exhaustion." made an impact on FIFA's newly expanded tournament for club teams. The Club World Cup was held in 11 American cities from June 14 to July 13. FIFA adapted by tweaking its extreme heat protocol to include extra breaks in play, more field-side water, and cooling the team benches with air fans and more shade. Still, Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernández said the heat and urged FIFA to avoid afternoon kickoffs at the World Cup next year. The global soccer players union, , has warned that six of the 16 World Cup cities next year are at "extremely high risk" for heat stress. FIFA president Gianni Infantino addressed the heat concerns on Saturday, saying the handful of World Cup stadiums that are covered would be used for day-time games next year. Extreme heat could become an even bigger challenge at the following , which will be co-hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Games are scheduled to be played in afternoons and early evenings from mid-June to mid-July. All three countries have already seen above 40 degrees celsius (well above 100 Fahrenheit) this summer. FIFA downplayed the heat risk in its of the 2030 World Cup bid, saying "weather conditions are difficult to predict with the current development in global and local climate, but are unlikely to affect the health of players or other participants." The physical effects of playing 90 minutes of soccer in direct sunshine during the hottest part of the day can be severe and potentially result in hyperthermia - abnormally high body temperatures. "When players experience hyperthermia, they also experience an increase in cardiovascular strain," said Julien Periard of the University of Canberra. "If core temperature increases excessively, exertional heat illness can occur," leading to muscle cramping, heat exhaustion, and even life-threatening heat stroke, he said. Many sports events held in the summer adjust their start times to early morning or late night to minimize the risk heat-related illness, including marathons at the or track . Morning kickoffs, however, are rare in soccer, where World Cup match schedules are often set with European TV audiences in mind. It would be hard for FIFA to avoid day-time World Cup kickoffs given the packed match schedule as the number of participating teams increases from 32 to 48 in 2026. Heat mainly becomes an issue when the World Cup is held in the Northern Hemisphere, because June and July are winter months in the Southern Hemisphere. FIFA has stuck to its traditional June-July schedule for the men's World Cup except in 2022 when it moved the tournament to November-December to avoid the summer heat in Qatar. Something similar is expected when neighboring Saudi Arabia hosts the tournament in 2034. However, moving the World Cup to another part of the year is complicated because it means Europe's powerful soccer leagues must interrupt their season, affecting both domestic leagues and the Champions League. FIFA didn't respond to questions from AP about whether alternate dates for the 2030 and 2034 World Cups were being considered. When and where to schedule the World Cup and other outdoor sports events is likely to become more pressing as the world continues to warm. Athletes and even everyday people doing basic physical activities are now exposed to 28% more of moderate or higher heat risk in 2023 than they were in the 1990s, said Ollie Jay, a professor at the University of Sydney who has helped shape policy for the . "This is symbolic of something bigger," said Michael Mann, a University of Pennsylvania climate scientist. "Not just the danger and inconvenience to fans and players, but the fundamentally disruptive nature of climate change when it comes our current way of life."
Euronews
8 hours ago
- Climate
- Euronews
Climate change could force FIFA to rethink the World Cup calendar
Football had a fierce reckoning with heat at the recently concluded FIFA Club World Cup in the United States, a sweltering preview of what players and fans may face when the US co-hosts the World Cup with Mexico and Canada next summer. With temperatures rising worldwide, scientists warn that staging the World Cup and other football tournaments in the Northern Hemisphere summer is getting increasingly dangerous for both players and spectators. Some suggest that FIFA may have to consider adjusting the football calendar to reduce the risk of heat-related illnesses. 'The deeper we go in the decade, the greater the risk without considering more dramatic measures, such as playing in the winter months and/or cooler latitudes,' said Professor Piers Forster, director of the Priestley Centre for Climate Futures in Leeds, England. 'I'm getting increasingly worried that we are only one heatwave away from a sporting tragedy and I would like to see governing bodies lean into the climate and health science.' Tournament football in June and July is a tradition going back to the first World Cup in 1930. Since then, the three-month period of June, July and August globally has warmed by 1.05 degrees Celsius, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Meanwhile, European summer temperatures have increased by 1.81 degrees Celsius. The rate of warming has accelerated since the 1990s. Climate scientists say that's a factor that needs to be considered when playing high-intensity outdoor sports like football. 'If you want to play football for 10 hours a day, they'll have to be the hours of the early morning and late evening,' climatologist Friederike Otto from Imperial College, London, told The Associated Press in an email, 'if you don't want to have players and fans die from heatstroke or get severely ill with heat exhaustion.' FIFA has had to adapt to a changing climate Extreme heat and thunderstorms made an impact on FIFA's newly expanded tournament for club teams. The Club World Cup was held in 11 American cities from 14 June to 13 July. FIFA adapted by tweaking its extreme heat protocol to include extra breaks in play, more field-side water, and cooling the team benches with air fans and more shade. Still, Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernández said the heat made him dizzy and urged FIFA to avoid afternoon kickoffs at the World Cup next year. The global football players' union, FIFPRO, has warned that six of the 16 World Cup cities next year are at 'extremely high risk' for heat stress. FIFA President Gianni Infantino addressed the heat concerns on Saturday, saying the handful of World Cup stadiums that are covered would be used for daytime games next year. Extreme heat could become an even bigger challenge at the following World Cup in 2030, which will be co-hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Games are scheduled to be played in afternoons and early evenings from mid-June to mid-July. All three countries have already seen temperatures rise above 40 degrees Celsius this summer. FIFA downplayed the heat risk in its in-house evaluation of the 2030 World Cup bid, saying 'weather conditions are difficult to predict with the current development in global and local climate, but are unlikely to affect the health of players or other participants.' Heat exhaustion is a real risk The physical effects of playing 90 minutes of football in direct sunshine during the hottest part of the day can be severe and potentially result in hyperthermia - abnormally high body temperatures. 'When players experience hyperthermia, they also experience an increase in cardiovascular strain,' said Julien Périard of the University of Canberra. 'If core temperature increases excessively, exertional heat illness can occur,' leading to muscle cramping, heat exhaustion, and even life-threatening heat stroke, he said. Many sports events held in the summer adjust their start times to early morning or late night to minimise the risk of heat-related illness, including marathons at the Olympics or track world championships. Morning kickoffs, however, are rare in football, where World Cup match schedules are often set with European TV audiences in mind. It would be hard for FIFA to avoid daytime World Cup kickoffs given the packed match schedule as the number of participating teams increases from 32 to 48 in 2026. A calendar rethink Heat mainly becomes an issue when the World Cup is held in the Northern Hemisphere, because June and July are winter months in the Southern Hemisphere. FIFA has stuck to its traditional June-July schedule for the men's World Cup, except in 2022 when it moved the tournament to November-December to avoid the summer heat in Qatar. Something similar is expected when neighbouring Saudi Arabia hosts the tournament in 2034. However, moving the World Cup to another part of the year is complicated because it means Europe's powerful football leagues must interrupt their season, affecting both domestic leagues and the Champions League. FIFA didn't respond to questions from AP about whether alternate dates for the 2030 and 2034 World Cups were being considered. When and where to schedule the World Cup and other outdoor sports events is likely to become more pressing as the world continues to warm. Athletes and even everyday people doing basic physical activities are now exposed to 28 per cent more moderate or higher heat risk in 2023 than they were in the 1990s, said Ollie Jay, a professor at the University of Sydney who has helped shape policy for the Australian Open in tennis. 'This is symbolic of something bigger,' said Michael Mann, a University of Pennsylvania climate scientist. 'Not just the danger and inconvenience to fans and players, but the fundamentally disruptive nature of climate change when it comes our current way of life.'
National Observer
9 hours ago
- Climate
- National Observer
Climate change could force FIFA to rethink the World Cup calendar
Soccer had a fierce reckoning with heat at the recently concluded FIFA Club World Cup in the United States — a sweltering preview of what players and fans may face when the US co-hosts the World Cup with Mexico and Canada next summer. With temperatures rising worldwide, scientists warn that staging the World Cup and other soccer tournaments in the Northern Hemisphere summer is getting increasingly dangerous for both players and spectators. Some suggest that FIFA may have to consider adjusting the soccer calendar to reduce the risk of heat-related illnesses. 'The deeper we go in the decade, the greater the risk without considering more dramatic measures, such as playing in the winter months and/or cooler latitudes,' said Prof. Piers Forster, director of the Priestley Centre for Climate Futures in Leeds, England. 'I'm getting increasingly worried that we are only one heatwave away from a sporting tragedy and I would like to see governing bodies lean into the climate and health science.' Tournament soccer in June and July is a tradition going back to the first World Cup in 1930. Since then, the three-month period of June, July and August globally has warmed by 1.05 degrees Celsius (1.89 degrees Fahrenheit), according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Meanwhile, European summer temperatures have increased by 1.81 degrees C. The rate of warming has accelerated since the 1990's. Climate scientists say that's a factor that needs to be considered when playing high-intensity outdoor sports like soccer. How climate change could force FIFA to rethink the World Cup calendar. 'If you want to play football for 10 hours a day, they'll have to be the hours of the early morning and late evening,' climatologist Friederike Otto from Imperial College, London, told The Associated Press in an email, 'if you don't want to have players and fans die from heatstroke or get severely ill with heat exhaustion.' FIFA adapts Extreme heat and thunderstorms made an impact on FIFA's newly expanded tournament for club teams. The Club World Cup was held in 11 American cities from June 14 to July 13. FIFA adapted by tweaking its extreme heat protocol to include extra breaks in play, more field-side water, and cooling the team benches with air fans and more shade. Still, Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernández said the heat made him dizzy and urged FIFA to avoid afternoon kickoffs at the World Cup next year. The global soccer players union, FIFPRO, has warned that six of the 16 World Cup cities next year are at 'extremely high risk' for heat stress. FIFA president Gianni Infantino addressed the heat concerns on Saturday, saying the handful of World Cup stadiums that are covered would be used for day-time games next year. Extreme heat could become an even bigger challenge at the following World Cup in 2030, which will be co-hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Games are scheduled to be played in afternoons and early evenings from mid-June to mid-July. All three countries have already seen temperatures rise above 40 degrees C (well above 100 Fahrenheit) this summer. FIFA downplayed the heat risk in its in-house evaluation of the 2030 World Cup bid, saying 'weather conditions are difficult to predict with the current development in global and local climate, but are unlikely to affect the health of players or other participants.' Heat exhaustion The physical effects of playing 90 minutes of soccer in direct sunshine during the hottest part of the day can be severe and potentially result in hyperthermia – abnormally high body temperatures. 'When players experience hyperthermia, they also experience an increase in cardiovascular strain,' said Julien Périard of the University of Canberra. 'If core temperature increases excessively, exertional heat illness can occur,' leading to muscle cramping, heat exhaustion, and even life-threatening heat stroke, he said. Many sports events held in the summer adjust their start times to early morning or late night to minimize the risk heat-related illness, including marathons at the Olympics or track world championships. Morning kickoffs, however, are rare in soccer, where World Cup match schedules are often set with European TV audiences in mind. It would be hard for FIFA to avoid day-time World Cup kickoffs given the packed match schedule as the number of participating teams increases from 32 to 48 in 2026. Calendar rethink Heat mainly becomes an issue when the World Cup is held in the Northern Hemisphere, because June and July are winter months in the Southern Hemisphere. FIFA has stuck to its traditional June-July schedule for the men's World Cup except in 2022 when it moved the tournament to November-December to avoid the summer heat in Qatar. Something similar is expected when neighboring Saudi Arabia hosts the tournament in 2034. However, moving the World Cup to another part of the year is complicated because it means Europe's powerful soccer leagues must interrupt their season, affecting both domestic leagues and the Champions League. FIFA didn't respond to questions from AP about whether alternate dates for the 2030 and 2034 World Cups were being considered. When and where to schedule the World Cup and other outdoor sports events is likely to become more pressing as the world continues to warm. Athletes and even everyday people doing basic physical activities are now exposed to 28% more of moderate or higher heat risk in 2023 than they were in the 1990s, said Ollie Jay, a professor at the University of Sydney who has helped shape policy for the Australian Open in tennis. 'This is symbolic of something bigger,' said Michael Mann, a University of Pennsylvania climate scientist. 'Not just the danger and inconvenience to fans and players, but the fundamentally disruptive nature of climate change when it comes our current way of life.'
Irish Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Daily Mirror
Trump fingerprints are all voer America's unfolding disaster movie
America has always felt as much like a movie set as a real country. From New York to Disneyland, its sweeping frontier plains to its grand canyons. Everywhere you go are familiar sights and iconic landmarks from the big screen, a place where it's never been hard for fantasy to trump reality. It's the home of Hollywood, where now even politics is just another arc in a grand plot. And increasingly the American genre of choice is 'Disaster Movie'. There's a scene in George Clooney's 2000 film where after days trapped inside the 'Perfect Storm', there is a chink in the angry clouds. A shaft of sunshine lights the faces of the exhausted fishermen. But just as the Hollywood happy ending seems on, the storm clouds close over once more. 'It's not going to let us out,' says Clooney's boat captain Billy Tyne. It's where America seems to now find itself. Trapped inside a perfect storm of ignorance with no way to avert disaster. Donald Trump's supporters reacted with fury when links were drawn from last week's tragedy in Texas to his administration's attacks on science. Over 100 people died in raging floodwaters, including 27 kids and counsellors attending Camp Mystic, a summer camp on the banks of the Guadalope river. The kneejerk attempts to lay the deaths directly at the door of a lack of weather forecasters due to MAGA cuts were premature. But only because they have not had time to fully bite. They will. And Trump and his sycophancy of dunces will have their fingerprints all over each new disaster. The Project 2025 blueprint for his second term spells it out. THE US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is one of the most respected and important authorities on climate and weather. Project 2025 branded it the primary component 'of the climate change alarm industry' and called for it to be 'broken up.' In just a few months, Trump and his backers from the oil industry have launched a blitzkrieg on American science, and its ability to react to the next inevitable Camp Mystic. They have embraced a tenet of the most classic authoritarian playbook of them all - George Orwell's 1984 – in which the Ministry of Truth spreads the gospel: 'Ignorance is Strength.' The Ministry of Trump is similarly trying to erase the evidence of the climate crimes of the fossil fuel industry. It has fired hundreds of scientists and even removed any references to the crisis from websites. Trump's Big Beautiful Bill passed last week was also an assault on tax incentives to transition to renewable energy – a key demand of Project 2025. His loyal followers including press secretary Karoline Leavitt reacted with fury to attempts to blame him for Camp Mystic. They branded the 'politicisation of this natural disaster' disgusting. You could remind them of how their boss ranted about diversity hires in air traffic control while the bodies of plane crash victims were still smouldering on the runway. But really what's the point? Better to be ignorant of facts. In North Carolina they blamed Joe Biden for directing a storm at their state by cloud seeding. I suspect it wouldn't be too hard to find MAGA devotees who believe Trump can divert hurricanes with bolts of lightning from his arse. Orwell also had this advice for a world of creeping authoritarianism: 'We have now sunk to a depth where restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men.' So here goes. The conditions created for the Texas rain bomb to form over the Gulf of Mexico (it's probably ok not to call it the Gulf of America on this occasion) were made more extreme, likely and volatile by the fossil fuelled climate crisis. The International Disaster Database estimates that human-caused climate change intensified all of the 10 most deadly extreme weather events of the past 20 years and contributed to more than 570,000 deaths. That included three tropical cyclones, four heatwaves, one drought and two major floods. In all cases they were made more intense, more likely, and more deadly by 250 years of atmospheric warming caused by burning oil, gas and coal. "This study should be an eye-opener for political leaders,' said one leading expert. "We have the knowledge to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy and build a safer, healthier world. But we need political leaders to step up and make it happen." Unfortunately, that's not a movie coming any time soon to America's theatre of ignorance.
NDTV
7 days ago
- NDTV
Will Your Next Flight Be Hit By Turbulence? You Can Find Out Before Takeoff
If flights make you nervous, join the club. You're not alone if, right before a flight, you start obsessively checking the departure time, tracking your flight, and thanks to recent headlines, even Googling whether your aircraft is an Airbus or Boeing. For someone with flight anxiety, everything becomes a trigger. The loud noise before take-off or landing, the smell of the aircraft, the sudden ding of the seatbelt sign -- each can feel like one step closer to a panic attack. But nothing makes the heart race quite like turbulence. Let's be honest, turbulence during take-off and landing is scary but at least somewhat manageable. You can mentally prepare for it. But the sudden, unpredictable ones that arrive mid-air? Or the kind where the captain suddenly comes on the intercom and calmly instructs, "Please fasten your seatbelts"? That's peak anxiety. The worst part? The unpredictability. But what if we told you there's now an app that can help reduce that unpredictability? Enter: Turbli Turbli is a free web-based turbulence forecasting app that allows you to check the expected turbulence levels for your flight route before you even board the plane. Think of it as a weather forecast, but specifically for air travel. Created with the help of real-time data from aviation and meteorological sources, Turbli maps out areas of expected turbulence based on the flight path you input. The app was developed by Dr Ignacio Gallego Marcos, a physicist and turbulence researcher. "Turbulence is, to some extent, predictable. I have run many simulations analysing turbulence, so I knew that building a flight turbulence forecast was possible. After much though on how to frame it correctly I began the development in 2019, and launched Turbli in July 2020," Marcos mentions on the website. How To Use It Using Turbli is simple: 1. Visit the website [ (there's no separate app to download). 2. Now, if you're using it from India, we would suggest, using the interactive map, rather than entering your departure and destination airports. Here's the link. 3. Select the details of your flight. The time, altitude, the locations. 4. Click on 'Get forecast'/ 'Generate forecast'. 4. And, within seconds, you'll receive a turbulence forecast interactive map showing the level of expected turbulence throughout the route, rated from light to severe. You can also view wind and weather patterns along the way, which are factored into turbulence predictions. We gave the site a try. Here's how it went: We selected one of the most busiest route, Delhi to Mumbai. Where Does The Data Come From? According to Turbli's website, the turbulence, wind and terminal area forecasts come from NOAA/NWS (the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), while thunderstorm forecasts are provided by the UK Met Office. Aircraft data is sourced from platforms like SKYbrary. Turbli then processes this raw data internally and adapts it to specific routes and aircraft types. The forecasts shown on the site are not official outputs from NOAA or the Met Office; they're Turbli's own processed predictions based on those inputs. But How Accurate Is It? Turbli doesn't guarantee a bump-free flight (unfortunately, no app or site can, as yet). However, Reddit threads are full with real life instances of people sharing how accurate the app is. Moreover, while Turbli uses the same data sources trusted by pilots and airlines, it's not 100 percent accurate. According to discussions on Reddit, and an AI analysis showed us that users report mixed results as some say it is: Around 30% of the time, Turbli is spot on. About 40-50% say it's semi-accurate, predicting turbulence for some parts of the journey but missing others. 10% of the time, users find it totally off. That said, for many, even an approximate warning is better than none. Knowing you might encounter some bumps can help you mentally prepare and reduce the stress of sudden surprises, and sometimes, that's all you need to feel in control. So, if turbulence makes you sweat bullets, give Turbli and other similar apps like Turbulence Forecast (paid site), and Flying Calmly (download the app) a shot the next time you fly. You may not be able to avoid the bumps, but at least you'll know when to fasten your seatbelts.
