The 2026 FIFA World Cup across the United States, Canada and Mexico is set to deliver more than a football test on the pitch, with extreme heat and volatile weather emerging as defining challenges of the expanded 48-team tournament.
Across 104 matches spread over a wide North American footprint, conditions are expected to be punishing in many host cities, with analysis indicating a large share of games could be played in temperatures above 32 degrees Celcius (89.6 degrees Fahrenheit).
In some venues, the “feels-like” heat is projected to climb even higher due to humidity and direct sun exposure.
The tournament arrives with recent history underscoring the risk.
At the 1994 World Cup in the United States, a match between Mexico and Ireland in Orlando became infamous after temperatures reportedly soared to 47 degrees Celcius, leaving players visibly drained in one of the most physically taxing games in tournament memory.
