The first ever World Cup in the Middle East is nearly upon us with Qatar playing host to the biggest competition in football.
It will take place in the winter due to the intense heat during the summer months, with the opening match taking place between hosts Qatar and Ecuador on November 20.
Many teams, including England, will have to acclimatise to the conditions just one week on from league action. Find out what weather you can expect in Qatar during the World Cup from November 20 to December 18.
QATAR WEATHER IN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER
The temperature at the Qatar World Cup is expected to be between 21 and 26 degrees celcius. However, it’s currently still above 30 degrees in Qatar with a matter of days to go before the tournament starts.
Compared to the summer, though, conditions would be incredibly tough to play football in with temperatures approaching 50 degrees on some days.
HOW HUMID IS QATAR?
It will be humid during the World Cup with humidity at 71%, which will be higher inside the stadiums. There will be air conditioning to counteract this problem. Grills in the stands and nozzles on the pitch will be used to pull in dirty air, all of which will be solar powered.
“We are not just cooling the air, we’re cleaning it,” professor of mechanical engineering at Qatar University Dr Saud Abdulaziz Abdul Ghani told FIFA.com.
“We’re purifying the air for spectators. For example, people who have allergies won’t have problems inside our stadiums as we have the cleanest and purest air there is.
“Pre-cooled air comes in through grills built into the stands and large nozzles alongside the pitch.
“Using the air circulation technique, cooled air is then drawn back, re-cooled, filtered and pushed out where it is needed.”
HOW HOT IS QATAR? IS IT SUMMER IN QATAR?
The hottest ever temperature record in Qatar is 50.4 degrees which was set in 2010 at Doha Airport.
The average annual temperature is around 30 degrees with very little rain. In November and December, when the 2022 World Cup is taking place, you can expect to see no rain during the tournament.
The summer months in Qatar are June through to September.
QATAR TIME ZONE DIFFERENCE COMPARED TO UK
When the World Cup is happening, Qatar will be three hours ahead of the UK.
WORLD CUP 2022 UK KICK-OFF TIMES
Qatar v Ecuador is the only match on the opening day of the tournament. After that the kick-off times for the group game matches will be at 10:00, 13:00, 16:00 and 19:00 in the UK.
The final round of group games, which see two matches happening at the same time, will be at 15:00 and 19:00.
The knockout stages will also see one game at 15:00 and another at 19:00.
The World Cup final takes place on December 18 at 15:00 UK time.
