Reacción a "The heat at the World Cup in North America will exceed safe playing conditions for several matches"

The World Weather Attribution study focuses on analyzing trends in heat and humidity. This is important because the human body does not respond to high temperatures in the same way under low-humidity conditions as it does under high-humidity conditions. In the latter cases (intense heat and high humidity), the physiological response to combat heat (sweat evaporation) is less effective, and prolonged exposure to these conditions can pose a health risk.

The previous World Cup in North America was held in 1994, and since then, the global average temperature has risen by between 0.5 and 0.7 °C. This figure may not seem very high, but it accounts for about half of the warming observed over the past century and a half. Furthermore, since the mid-1990s, when the previous World Cup was held in the U.S., the effects of climate change have intensified across the globe, particularly heat waves.

What this study highlights is that both athletes and spectators at major events are now subjected to more extreme environmental conditions related to heat and humidity than they were three decades ago; therefore, adaptive strategies (cooling, match schedules, etc.) must take this new reality into account.