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Without changing the schedule, the tournament would have a detrimental impact on the health (and even the lives) of both players and fans.
The FIFA World Cup, the world's largest sporting event, even surpasses the Olympics in viewership. The upcoming match in Qatar is expected to attract over 5 billion viewers worldwide, with more than 1 million watching live at the stadiums.
Initially, the 2022 World Cup was planned for summer (June and July as usual). However, on March 20, 2018, FIFA officially decided to move the tournament to winter (the first time in World Cup history).
The tournament will commence on November 20, 2022. The final match will be held on December 18, 2022, coinciding with Qatar's National Day. The final rounds of the tournament will last for 29 days instead of the usual 32.
So why did FIFA decide to change the timing of the World Cup from summer to winter?
The answer is quite simple, the reason is related to the weather in Qatar. Without changing the timing, the tournament would adversely affect the health (even the lives) of players and fans.
Qatar, situated on the Arabian Peninsula in Northeast Africa, is constantly influenced by the Iran-Saudi high-pressure system, akin to the tropical high-pressure system in the Pacific, making it a typical desert climate region.
We all know that the equatorial regions receive the strongest solar radiation on the entire planet. However, the equator is not the hottest place on Earth. The hottest and driest place on Earth lies within the tropical high-pressure belt at latitudes 15-30° North and South.
This is due to the equatorial atmosphere expanding upward due to solar radiation, causing water vapor to condense into rain. Subsequently, this air mass moves toward the poles and descends near latitudes 15-30° North and South. Heat compression leads to intense heat in the affected region.
However, the tropical high-pressure belt is also influenced by topography, divided by the Tibetan Plateau and the Cordillera mountain range into three parts globally: the North Atlantic tropical high-pressure system, the North Africa-Iran tropical high-pressure system, and the Pacific tropical high-pressure system.
For instance, the Pacific tropical high-pressure system only occasionally affects China in summer and autumn, causing heatwaves. Qatar is affected year-round by the North Africa-Iran tropical high-pressure system.
Doha, the capital of Qatar, experiences an average daily temperature exceeding 40°C in August, over 41°C in July, surpassing Trung Khanh (China) enduring a terrifying heatwave at 40.2°C this year. This means almost every day in July-August in Doha reaches above 40°C, with some days reaching 44-45°C, even 50°C.
Despite athletes' resilience and endurance, if they perform under this scorching sun, the likelihood of heat exhaustion is very high. If outdoor competitions were held, most of them would collapse due to heat exhaustion. A world tournament would become a disaster if unfortunate events related to human lives occurred.
Naturally, Qatar, being wealthy and foresighted, can handle these situations. Therefore, to prevent dire circumstances, they have installed and further renovated 7 enclosed air-conditioned stadiums.
However, even with air-conditioned stadiums, moving to the venues in over 40-degree weather will certainly affect the players' and spectators' well-being.
In November 2022, the average temperature in Qatar fluctuates around 37-38°C, which is normal. For instance, on November 12, most of Qatar was above 36°C.
The good news is Qatar will be influenced by a cold air mass. By the end of November, the daytime maximum temperature will drop to around 25-30°C, suitable for athletes to compete.
As a result, FIFA ultimately decided to host the World Cup in November-December. Although the weather during this time may exceed 30°C, it will be much better than July-August (Qatar's weather is not divided into summer and winter).
Source: Zhihu
