世界杯观察：当炎热成为隐形的对手——这届世界杯如何应对极端高温

This World Cup has a special "opponent."

It belongs to no team, yet it gives every team and every player a headache — and that is the hot weather.

This World Cup is co-hosted by three nations — the United States, Canada and Mexico — and the timing of the matches falls right in the height of the northern hemisphere's summer.

In summer, many parts of North America are scorching, with temperatures often staying stubbornly high, and the sun blazing down ferociously on the land.

For precisely this reason, "extreme heat" has become a topic at this World Cup that can be neither sidestepped nor avoided.

After research, climate scientists have pointed out that at this World Cup, roughly one in every four matches is played in a heat environment severe enough to threaten health.

And of all sixteen host cities, as many as nine are considered "extreme-heat-risk" areas.

These cities include Miami, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Kansas City and more — spread across almost all of the southern and central United States.

In these places, high-summer daytime temperatures often exceed 35 degrees Celsius, and with the intense direct sun on top of that, the temperature people feel outdoors is even higher.

Just imagine what an enormous test it is for the body to run and battle continuously for 90 minutes in an environment like this.

We ordinary people are often drenched in sweat even just sitting still, let alone professional players giving their all on the pitch.

Heat not only makes people quickly feel exhausted, but also brings genuine health risks, such as heatstroke, dehydration, and even more serious conditions.

In fact, at a similar major tournament last year, the heat had already caused plenty of trouble for both players and fans, leaving a deep lesson behind.

With that cautionary precedent, people are paying especially close attention to the heat issue at this World Cup, and have done more preparation in advance.

To cope with the heat, the organizers have taken a series of measures.

The most important of these is the so-called "hydration break" — that is, briefly stopping when the match reaches its halfway point to let players promptly take on water.

In the past, such a break was usually only arranged on a temporary basis when the temperature exceeded a certain specific standard.

FIFA generally sets this trigger standard at a relatively high temperature.

However, the organization representing players' interests believes this standard is set too high, and that protection of players should begin at a lower temperature.

It was precisely under the sustained voices from all sides that this World Cup made a clear change.

This time, regardless of whether the day's weather is hot or not, each half has a fixed hydration break.

These short few minutes may seem unremarkable, but for the players on the pitch they are often vitally important.

A sip of water, a wipe of sweat, and they can recover part of their stamina and refocus their concentration.

You should know that, under high heat, players burn through their physical energy especially fast, and their concentration easily drops along with it.

With such a fixed break, both the quality of the match and the players' safety can be safeguarded to a certain degree.

Beyond this, the organizers have also scheduled a considerable portion of matches in the evening or even at night.

Once the sun has set, temperatures drop noticeably, and the players naturally find it much more comfortable to play.

At the same time, some stadiums have roofs of their own, and even air conditioning, making the interior very cool.

Playing in a stadium like this, there's almost no need to worry any more about the effects of the heat.

However, the real difficulty is that not all matches can be arranged at cool times and venues.

There are still quite a few matches that must be played under the daytime blazing sun.

Someone might ask: then why not simply arrange all the matches at night?

The reason is actually very practical: fans around the world keep different hours.

Putting some matches during the day is often precisely to accommodate the viewing times of audiences in Europe, Asia and elsewhere.

But this means the players on the pitch have no choice but to suit up at the hottest period of the day.

And precisely for this reason, many players and experts have publicly expressed their concerns.

They have called, one after another, for player health to be placed in a more important position when scheduling future tournaments.

Some have made specific suggestions: extend the hydration breaks a bit more, and even lengthen the half-time break too.

Others have proposed that the hottest matches should, as far as possible, avoid the most punishing period around midday.

And what's worth our attention is that those affected by the heat are far from only the players on the pitch.

The fans who travel specially to watch in person likewise have to sit for long stretches in stifling stands.

Some stands have no shade-providing roof, with the sun beating straight down and the temperature shockingly high.

They likewise face the risk of heatstroke, and so also need to drink plenty of water and take care to guard against and cool down from the heat.

For this, stadiums usually prepare ample drinking water and specially set up some areas where people can cool off and escape the heat in the shade.

At this point, we might gain a new layer of understanding of this World Cup.

On this green pitch, every team's true opponent is, in fact, not only another team.

The hot weather has become a challenge that everyone must face together.

Whoever can better maintain their form and rhythm under the heat often has more of a chance to have the last laugh.

So when we sit in front of our screens watching the matches, we might as well hold a little more understanding and respect in our hearts.

Those players who, under the blazing sun, still run their hearts out on the pitch are truly remarkable.

Because what they have to overcome is not only the opponent across from them, but also a heat that is almost unbearable.

In a sense, simply holding on until the final whistle in weather like this is itself already worthy of respect.

This is also a reminder to us that football has never been only a contest of technique and tactics — sometimes, it must also face the test of nature.

Of course, no matter how thrilling the match, the most important thing should always be safety.

Whether for players or for fans, health is forever more important than the outcome of a single match.

We sincerely hope that everyone at this World Cup can be safe and sound while enjoying football to the fullest.

At the same time, the extreme-heat problem encountered at this World Cup also leaves behind a question worth pondering for the future.

As the climate grows hotter and hotter, major sporting events to come will likely have to take this "invisible opponent" — the weather — far more seriously.

From a certain angle, the coping measures we see on the pitch today are perhaps precisely valuable experience being accumulated for the future.

Alright, that's where we'll leave the topic of the World Cup and extreme heat for today. Until next time.