Toronto faces dangerous heat during Portugal-Croatia match as Nathan Phillips Square cancelled
The city cancelled its popular World Cup broadcast due to extreme conditions, with a wet bulb globe temperature expected to reach 30°C, exceeding FIFA safety guidelines.
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Toronto cancelled one of its most popular public viewing events for the Portugal-Croatia World Cup match due to dangerous heat conditions that exceed safety guidelines for professional soccer players.
Environment Canada forecast a high of 34°C around 5 p.m., expected to feel like 42°C with humidity. By 7 p.m., when the match began, the temperature was forecast to drop to 32°C with a humidex of 41°C, and relative humidity ranging between 45 and 60 per cent.
FIFPRO, the global organization representing professional footballers, has guidelines based on the "wet bulb globe temperature" (WBGT) that recommend games should be delayed or postponed if the WBGT reaches 28°C or the ambient temperature exceeds 36°C. According to a Canadian Armed Forces chart estimating WBGT from temperature and humidity, Thursday's Toronto match was expected to kick off with a WBGT of 30°C.
Kate Hutchins, a University of Ottawa researcher studying extreme heat's effects on the human body, noted that soccer players face particular risk because running produces "a massive amount of metabolic heat," limiting the body's ability to release heat. "It's definitely a positive step having these types of guidelines in place," she said.
FIFA has not announced a specific temperature threshold for delaying or postponing matches. As of Tuesday, nine matches in this year's tournament had already been played amid potentially dangerous heat and humidity. FIFPRO said it will discuss heat and other issues affecting players at a news conference on July 17.
