Stifling heat, storm delays: weather extremes could impact World Cup
The upcoming 2026 World Cup could face challenges due to extreme weather conditions, including heat, humidity, and thunderstorms. These conditions are common in many North American regions during summer and may disrupt the tournament scheduled across the US, Canada, and Mexico. Previous events have already shown that severe weather can lead to significant delays in matches.
- ▪The 2026 World Cup will be hosted in 16 cities across the US, Canada, and Mexico.
- ▪Summer storms in the US often lead to mandatory delays in outdoor sporting events due to lightning strikes.
- ▪Last year's FIFA Club World Cup experienced multiple match delays due to severe weather, raising concerns about hosting the tournament in certain US cities.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","mainEntityOfPage":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/stifling-heat-storm-delays-weather-012605654.html","headline":"Stifling heat, storm delays: weather extremes could impact World Cup","datePublished":"2026-05-25T01:26:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-25T01:26:05.000Z","keywords":["2026 World Cup","lightning strike","FIFA Club World Cup","severe weather","summer temperatures","East Rutherford, New Jersey","Kelsey Malloy","outdoor leisure activities"],"description":"Heat, humidity and thunderstorms are synonymous with summer in many North American regions -- and in a few weeks they could also threaten the 2026 World...","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Yahoo…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Yahoo Sports.