Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
The men’s football World Cup is about to kick off in North America. And it looks likely to be one plagued by dangerous levels of heat and extreme weather.
This World Cup may also be one of the most polluting yet: does it really make sense to host across 3 countries if it means fans flying thousands of miles between games?
Climate change is already making its impacts felt worldwide – even in the beautiful game.
##################################################
## Contents
00:00 – Soccer PUNch
00:10 - What world cup
02:04 - Things have changed
03:47 - USA 1994
07:18 - Humidity
08:11 - Wet Bulb
11:33 - Extreme events
13:17 - Game changer
14:40 - El Niño
15:46 - The elephant in the room
17:39 - Solutions
18:46 - Sport brings us together
#WorldCup2026 #ClimateCrisis #ElNino #Sport #Football
##################################################
Thank you SO MUCH to all my fabulous patrons, I really appreciate your support. Special thanks to my Patreon Saints: Steven Cowling, Eliot Bryant, Baerbel Winkler, Patrick Hillberg, Michael Unterweger, James Harley Gorrell, Gary Stark, Charles Vane, Sarah Den & Mark Brandon ♥️
##################################################
Check out Climate Central's World Cup hub, it's pretty sick: climatecentral.org/world-cup-2026
WWA analysis is also super helpful:
worldweatherattribution.org/climate-change-big-player-at-fifa-world-cup-2026
Additional material from:
Soccer HD
BBC Archive
Manitoba Operator
US Soccer
References and resources
totalfootballanalysis.com/thought-analysis/how-hot-weather-changes-football-match-strategies
digitalhub.fifa.com/m/1fc77540eab37831/original/FIFA-Emergency-Care-Manual-EN.pdf
csi.climatecentral.org/climate-shift-index?firstDate=2024-06-27
csi.climatecentral.org/humid-heat?ind=max&map=dhh&uT=C&xyz=0_0_3
climatecentral.org/climate-matters/world-cup-stadiums
Sanderson 2022 nature.com/articles/d41586-022-03771-9.pdf
theconversation.com/world-cup-2026-why-moving-games-to-evenings-isnt-enough-to-tackle-extreme-heat-problem-283410
tbsnews.net/sports/players-risk-suffering-heat-stroke-during-wc-qatar-says-physiologist-534262
espn.co.uk/football/story/_/id/40432350/copa-america-2024-assistant-referee-collapse-heat-peru-canada
bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c78nxlz24z9o
time.com/6227277/qatar-extreme-heat-world-cup-2022
bbc.co.uk/sport/extra/i4yxbkxake/world-cup-2026-stadium-guide
bbc.co.uk/sport/56972365
Grundstein et al 2023 journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/17479541231186146
Fan et al 2023 nature.com/articles/s41598-022-26928-y
clientearth.org/projects/the-greenwashing-files/aramco
theguardian.com/football/2026/may/17/world-cup-climate-change
bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cr5l1nq3d6ro
Brugge (1995) doi.org/10.1002/j.1477-8696.1995.tb06057.x
statista.com/statistics/1091926/atmospheric-concentration-of-co2-historic
ourworldindata.org/grapher/temperature-anomaly
Met Office Hadley Centre - HadCRUT5 (2026) metoffice.gov.uk/hadobs/hadcrut5
cooldownclimate.org/latest/open-letter-health-experts-fifa
oceanservice.noaa.gov/hazards/sealevelrise
ncei.noaa.gov/nespls/olstore.prodspecific?prodnum=3668
skysports.com/football/news/12098/13549718/world-cup-2026-how-will-extreme-heat-impact-this-summers-tournament-in-the-usa-canada-and-mexico
theconversation.com/extreme-heat-at-the-world-cup-are-fifas-safeguards-enough-282489
The men’s football World Cup is about to kick off in North America. And it looks likely to be one plagued by dangerous levels of heat and extreme weather.
This World Cup may also be one of the most polluting yet: does it really make sense to host across 3 countries if it means fans flying thousands of miles between games?
Climate change is already making its impacts felt worldwide – even in the beautiful game.
##################################################
## Contents
00:00 – Soccer PUNch
00:10 - What world cup
02:04 - Things have changed
03:47 - USA 1994
07:18 - Humidity
08:11 - Wet Bulb
11:33 - Extreme events
13:17 - Game changer
14:40 - El Niño
15:46 - The elephant in the room
17:39 - Solutions
18:46 - Sport brings us together
#WorldCup2026 #ClimateCrisis #ElNino #Sport #Football
##################################################
Thank you SO MUCH to all my fabulous patrons, I really appreciate your support. Special thanks to my Patreon Saints: Steven Cowling, Eliot Bryant, Baerbel Winkler, Patrick Hillberg, Michael Unterweger, James Harley Gorrell, Gary Stark, Charles Vane, Sarah Den & Mark Brandon ♥️
##################################################
Check out Climate Central's World Cup hub, it's pretty sick: climatecentral.org/world-cup-2026
WWA analysis is also super helpful:
worldweatherattribution.org/climate-change-big-player-at-fifa-world-cup-2026
Additional material from:
Soccer HD
BBC Archive
Manitoba Operator
US Soccer
References and resources
totalfootballanalysis.com/thought-analysis/how-hot-weather-changes-football-match-strategies
digitalhub.fifa.com/m/1fc77540eab37831/original/FIFA-Emergency-Care-Manual-EN.pdf
csi.climatecentral.org/climate-shift-index?firstDate=2024-06-27
csi.climatecentral.org/humid-heat?ind=max&map=dhh&uT=C&xyz=0_0_3
climatecentral.org/climate-matters/world-cup-stadiums
Sanderson 2022 nature.com/articles/d41586-022-03771-9.pdf
theconversation.com/world-cup-2026-why-moving-games-to-evenings-isnt-enough-to-tackle-extreme-heat-problem-283410
tbsnews.net/sports/players-risk-suffering-heat-stroke-during-wc-qatar-says-physiologist-534262
espn.co.uk/football/story/_/id/40432350/copa-america-2024-assistant-referee-collapse-heat-peru-canada
bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c78nxlz24z9o
time.com/6227277/qatar-extreme-heat-world-cup-2022
bbc.co.uk/sport/extra/i4yxbkxake/world-cup-2026-stadium-guide
bbc.co.uk/sport/56972365
Grundstein et al 2023 journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/17479541231186146
Fan et al 2023 nature.com/articles/s41598-022-26928-y
clientearth.org/projects/the-greenwashing-files/aramco
theguardian.com/football/2026/may/17/world-cup-climate-change
bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cr5l1nq3d6ro
Brugge (1995) doi.org/10.1002/j.1477-8696.1995.tb06057.x
statista.com/statistics/1091926/atmospheric-concentration-of-co2-historic
ourworldindata.org/grapher/temperature-anomaly
Met Office Hadley Centre - HadCRUT5 (2026) metoffice.gov.uk/hadobs/hadcrut5
cooldownclimate.org/latest/open-letter-health-experts-fifa
oceanservice.noaa.gov/hazards/sealevelrise
ncei.noaa.gov/nespls/olstore.prodspecific?prodnum=3668
skysports.com/football/news/12098/13549718/world-cup-2026-how-will-extreme-heat-impact-this-summers-tournament-in-the-usa-canada-and-mexico
theconversation.com/extreme-heat-at-the-world-cup-are-fifas-safeguards-enough-282489
