LAWRENCE, Kansas — This week’s overpowering heat and humidity across the U.S. have put a strain on World Cup visitors and local fans playing in, watching and gathering for the global soccer tournament in Kansas and Missouri.
Temperatures on Friday, when Kansas City hosts Ecuador and Colombia for a round of 32 match, will be in the mid-90s.
Pam Kramer, CEO of the World Cup planning organization KC2026, said the FIFA Fan Festival at the National WWI Museum and Memorial will have extra water misters and hydration stations for Friday fans.
In particular, she said her team is focused on wait times for the shuttles to the stadium and the Fan Festival. They’re adding hydration stations at those stops, as well. She said as long as they can keep waits to their average of under 30 minutes, KC2026 feels they can keep fans safe from the heat.
Of the four teams that made their base camps in the Kansas City area — Argentina, England, the Netherlands and Algeria — only Algeria is accustomed to similar weather in June and July.
The average temperature in England and the Netherlands during the summer months is in the 70s. Since Argentina is in the Southern Hemisphere, June and July are its coldest months, with average temperatures in the low 60s.
National Weather Service Meteorologist Brandon Drake said that the heat dome currently lingering over Kansas was created when the jet stream retreated north into Canada, allowing heat to build up and cause a prolonged warming of the Kansas City area.
Lawrence and surrounding areas are under an extreme heat warning through the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
“It'd be like walking into a sauna,” Drake said Wednesday from his Topeka office. “There’s not a lot of movement in the cold air trying to come south.”
Concerns about the heat drove structural changes to the World Cup matches. FIFA has set up mandatory hydration breaks during each match. In each half, the referee has the ability to stop the game for three minutes to give each team time to hydrate. Some coaches say the breaks disrupt the game and give an unwarranted advantage. Spearheading the pushback is head coach for Paraguay, Gustavo Alfaro, who voiced his frustrations with the hydration break.
“These are more than hydration breaks. I know this applies to everybody, but I like continuity. Football is continuity and continuity is broken,” Alfaro said on June 24.
Drake said temperatures on artificial turf fields can reach 110 degrees and grass surfaces will be somewhat cooler.
“But it’s still definitely much cooler under like a good tree,” he said.
Games in Kansas City, Miami and Monterrey are expected to be some of the hottest and most humid, affecting teams including Argentina, Algeria and Brazil during the Round of 32.
Public health officials have warned fans and supporters to stay hydrated before and during games, take frequent breaks by enjoying some shade and allow the body time to acclimate to hot and humid conditions.
Without proper hydration, Drake said a heat-related illness can occur within 20 to 30 minutes — even sooner during exertion. The first signs are excessive sweating, an unquenchable thirst and dizziness.
“Those types of symptoms would kind of make you feel like you're off a little bit,” Drake said. “That would definitely let you know you’re going down the path of heat exhaustion or heat stroke and once you realize it, you’re way behind and getting caught up when you’re behind is not feasible.”
KCUR's Frank Morris contributed reporting.
KCUR is partnering with students at the University of Kansas' William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communication for coverage of this summer's World Cup.
