Sweltering, oppressive, stifling \u2014 call it what you want, this World Cup is going to be hot, with a sizeable chunk of games set to be played above 90F (32C).<\/p>\n
It is likely to be the warmest edition since, well, the last time it was held in North America, when the U.S. hosted it in 1994. That World Cup, with more than 80 per cent of matches played before 5pm local time \u2014 usually under a baking afternoon sun \u2014 became notorious for its draining conditions. A memorable example was Mexico\u2019s 2-1 victory over the Republic of Ireland in Orlando, where temperatures soared to 117F at pitch level.<\/p>\n
There is little reason to think this tournament will be much different.<\/p>\n
Last summer, FIFA hosted the Club World Cup in the U.S., a competition that served as something of a dry run for the upcoming showpiece. The graphic above, using weather data sourced from Visual Crossing, shows it was warmer than each of the last four World Cups.<\/p>\n
But only five of the stadiums used in that tournament are hosting matches at this World Cup, which is also spread across Mexico and Canada. To build a more complete picture, The Athletic analysed 10 years of hourly weather data for each fixture, using the scheduled kick-off time, plus an hour either side, across a seven-day window around the match date.<\/p>\n