As the 2026 World Cup gets under way across the US, Mexico and Canada, players and fans face a range of weather-related challenges, from heat and humidity to thunderstorms and even tropical storms. The tournament, held in 16 cities, has already seen disruptions: England's warm-up match against Costa Rica in Orlando was delayed by about an hour after thunderstorms brought lightning and heavy rain that waterlogged the pitch.
Safety regulations in US venues require play to be suspended when lightning is detected within roughly 8 miles of a stadium, with play resuming only 30 minutes after the last strike. The risk of thunderstorms is greatest across the central, eastern and south-eastern US, with Miami and Houston being the most lightning-prone host cities, though Houston's stadium has a retractable roof. Over the coming days, the greatest risk of severe storms lies further north-east, affecting Friday's Canada v Bosnia and Herzegovina match in Toronto and Saturday's fixtures in Boston and New York.
Heat and humidity pose the broadest challenge to players and spectators. Temperatures in Monterrey, Mexico, are high, while humidity in the south-eastern US produces the greatest heat strain. FIFA uses wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) to assess heat-stress risk; many exercise physiologists consider 28°C WBGT unsafe for high-exertion play, while FIFA's threshold for action is 32°C. A 2025 study projected that 14 of the 16 host cities will exceed 28°C at least some of the time, though several stadiums have roofs and air-conditioning.
Tropical storms are also a risk during the tournament, which falls in the early Atlantic season. Most development is likely over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, Bay of Campeche, and western Caribbean, putting Mexican venues, Houston and Miami at greatest risk. The National Hurricane Center is monitoring a low-pressure area over the Bay of Campeche, giving it a small chance of tropical cyclone formation before landfall into eastern Mexico this weekend.
Mexico City presents additional challenges due to its altitude of about 2,240 metres, where thinner air reduces oxygen availability, accelerating fatigue and slowing recovery. The reduced air resistance can also alter the flight of the ball. In contrast, Canada's venues are expected to remain comparatively cool with the lowest risk of disruptive storms, raising questions of competitive fairness given the uneven distribution of weather-related conditions.
