--- title: World Cup-Scale Building Projects Riskier in a Hotter World description: As climate change bakes the Middle East, the massive construction projects that define the Gulf will become humanly impossible. canonical: https://time.com/6236459/climate-risks-construction-qatar-world-cup/ author: Aryn Baker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2022-11-23T14:58:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-19T06:57:29.246Z article:section: Climate og:title: A Qatar-Style World Cup Building Boom May Not Be Possible in a Hotter World og:description: As climate change bakes the Middle East, mega construction projects that define the Gulf will become humanly impossible og:url: https://time.com/6236459/climate-risks-construction-qatar-world-cup/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte834203fc4a7217e/698a383cb21a9c371c506b72/qatar-world-cup-construction-climate-change-extreme-heat.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: TOPSHOT-FBL-WC-2022-PREPARATION og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: A Qatar-Style World Cup Building Boom May Not Be Possible in a Hotter World twitter:description: As climate change bakes the Middle East, mega construction projects that define the Gulf will become humanly impossible twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte834203fc4a7217e/698a383cb21a9c371c506b72/qatar-world-cup-construction-climate-change-extreme-heat.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A Qatar-Style World Cup Building Boom May Not Be Possible in a Hotter World > Sponsored content. 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Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=a6b08976-10e2-4dca-98d9-444bf0fa5c5e&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Too Hot To Work; Qatar's World Cup Building Boom [Watch (HLS stream): Too Hot To Work; Qatar's World Cup Building Boom](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/CF4oAg12.m3u8) (19:32)  _Published 2022-11-14. Time reporters traveled the route that nearly half a million Nepali migrant laborers have taken over the past decade to middle east countries like Qatar, where they have helped build the stadiums, hotels, transport systems and entertainment venues that will host fans and players for the upcoming men’s World Cup soccer championship that starts November 20._ by [Aryn Baker](https://time.com/author/aryn-baker/) ## Aryn Baker Nov 23, 2022 2:58 PM UTC by [Aryn Baker](https://time.com/author/aryn-baker/) ## Aryn Baker Nov 23, 2022 2:58 PM UTC Listen 00:001.0x05:41 Narrated by TIME AI. _This story was supported by the_ [_Pulitzer Center_](https://pulitzercenter.org/)_._ When Qatar, a tiny Gulf kingdom with a lot of money and one aging sports arena, won the bid to host the 2022 World Cup soccer championships in 2010, it had no choice but to embark on a[ massive construction campaign](https://time.com/6227277/qatar-extreme-heat-world-cup-2022/) to build the stadiums, transport, and hotels required to host, move, and house more than 1.5 million fans and players. And it did so with considerable zeal. More than $220 of its petro-billions were funneled into world-class infrastructure projects that transformed the once-sleepy pearl fishing village of Doha into a dazzling demonstration of architectural excess in little more than a decade. It was a building boom in one of the hottest places on the planet, powered by hundreds of thousands of[ migrant workers laboring in grueling conditions](https://time.com/6233628/world-cup-climate-change-migrant-workers/) that got hotter every year—Qatar’s daily high summer temperatures have[ increased by an average of 1.4°F](https://weatherspark.com/y/150272/Average-Weather-in-Qatar-Year-Round#:~:text=Over%20the%20course%20of%20the,or%20above%20112%C2%B0F.) since 2010\. That trajectory is likely to continue. Because of climate change, the Middle East is one of the fastest warming places on the planet; by 2100, temperatures could rise to the point that just going outside for a few hours will exceed the “upper limit for survivability,” according to a 2020 study published in[ _Science Advances_](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aaw1838)_._ But the World Cup is just one aspect of the gas-rich kingdom’s effort to diversify its economy by becoming a world class destination for business, sports, and leisure. Even as workers were putting the final touches on stadiums and hotels shortly before the opening ceremony, scaffolding was going up on hundreds more construction sites across the peninsula. But for how much longer can construction—a job constrained by the limits of human tolerance for heat—continue if temperatures keep rising? **Read More:** [_Thousands of Migrant Workers Died in Qatar’s Extreme Heat. The World Cup Forced a Reckoning_](https://time.com/6227277/qatar-extreme-heat-world-cup-2022/) Qatar’s Nov. 20 World Cup opening ceremony started just a few hours after the conclusion of the UN’s 27th[ global climate conference](https://time.com/6235380/cop27-new-climate-action-paradigm/), known as COP27, in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. There, representatives from 196 member nations and the European Union barely managed to uphold the Paris COP15 goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C (2.7°F) above pre-industrial levels, beyond which scientists warn that the dangers—floods, droughts, wildfires, heatwaves, and ecosystem collapse—grow considerably. The world has already warmed by[ 1.2°C](https://climateactiontracker.org/global/cat-thermometer/) (2.16°F), and Climate Action Tracker, a research organization that calculates potential warming based on national emission reduction commitments,[ warns](https://climateactiontracker.org/global/cat-thermometer/#:~:text=November%202022%20NDCs%20likely%20below,of%20exceeding%201.5%C2%B0C.) that we are currently on track to reach 2°C (3.6°F) by the end of the century, and that’s only if countries meet their 2030 targets. If they don’t, it will be more like 2.7°C (4.86°F). Even the optimistic scenario means that by 2050, Gulf countries will likely see up to 250 dangerous heat days a year, according to an August study[ published](https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-022-00524-4/) in _Communications Earth & Environment._ “Dangerous” heat days are defined as exceeding a temperature and humidity index of 103°F (39.4°C). These extremes can easily lead to heat exhaustion for those without protection, and ongoing exposure to dangerous heat days can lead to chronic illnesses, say the authors. By 2100, the study[ predicts](https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-022-00524-4#Fig4), “Extremely dangerous heat stress will be a regular feature of the climate” in not just the Gulf region, but parts of Africa and South Asia too. By “extremely dangerous,” the authors mean an index of 124°F (51.1°C), which can lead to heat stroke and death within a few hours. It’s hard to see how construction, at least as it is done now, can continue under those conditions. **Read More:** [_What Extreme Heat Does to the Human Body_](https://time.com/6186988/extreme-heat-human-body-impact/) There are some technological fixes. Qatar has already invested an undisclosed but “significant” amount of money into the development of[ clothing](https://time.com/6211360/qatar-world-cup-workers-extreme-heat/) that can keep workers cooler in extreme temperatures, according to James Russel, managing director for Europe, the Middle East, and Australasia of the UK-based cooling clothing company[ Techniche](https://www.techniche-europe.com/), which partnered with Qatar to create the gear. But those outfits, which have been distributed to World Cup stadium workers and street cleaners employed by the state, only provide comfort in high heat, and are not designed—yet—to enable workers to labor for longer hours or in higher temperatures. Night-time work is already part of the construction scene in the Gulf says Russel, but it will probably need to increase. So will the size of the construction workforce. “If we’re reducing the amount of work that people are doing by increasing the amount of people on sites,” he says, “then we’re mitigating the overall risk.” --- **_A version of this story first appeared in the_** **Climate is Everything** **_newsletter. To sign up,_** [**_click here_**](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/newsletters/?newsletter%5Fname=climate&source=onsite)**_._** --- In the long term, construction projects may have to evolve into prefabricated projects that can be assembled in air-conditioned warehouses and then stacked together outside with the help of heavy machinery. But machines break down, and outdoor workers will still be needed. Meanwhile, a lot more could be done to reduce the radiant heat that emanates from construction equipment and scaffolding, says Russel. “That’s not beyond our technologies. It just needs further development, and of course, more money.” Money is not lacking, as Qatar’s World Cup building boom so clearly demonstrates. The only problem is that the money needed to adapt regional construction to a warming climate comes from the fossil fuels that are driving it. ## Transcript The winner to organize the 22. FIFA World Cup Qatar. The hosting an event of this size requires a lot of separate new stadiums, state-of-the-art training facilities and a lot more kind of exceed 50 degrees with humidity. The 2022 World Cup kicks off in November 5 months later than usual. Spare players and fans the worst of the gulf scorching summer heat. Qatar has been 10 years and two hundred billion dollars preparing for these games a building boom. And one of the world's hottest places and it relied on a global supply chain of Migrant workers from the Philippines Bangladesh, India and Nepal. Desperate enough to work in any conditions. Here or Surrender, no. More Chaplet of Divine Mercy. honey, because some of us, I want someone by Cher. McDonald's. I know I need a happy like when I got it. Hey buddy, love you. Why do people yawn? Montauk. What time, Alabama? Comerica Theatre. Play Yoshi like Morgan. This one's underground, five levels. What does it feel like to see these photos? I would like to say, happy happy happy. Like all workers headed for the gulf surrender tamang, passed a health screening before he left Nepal. He was hired as a construction worker on a luxury complex in downtown Doha. It was one of many such projects that sprang up in the rush to prepare for the 2022 games in the equivalent to $400 a month and spent nearly all of it home. But I can see why you're proud. It's an amazing structure. Add me to take my boo by chambliss South possible. Negative. AutoZone. When was pilate the boys? Have we had the tiniest. Pakistani video Gana. 1911 Livonia. Ave And Qatar Sorento suffered headaches and dizzy spells, clear signs of heat stress. When his job site posters emphasized, the need to stay hydrated but he had to pay for his own water. And some days when he was working high up on scaffolding, he would avoid drinking so we would have to make trips up and down to the bathroom. When he got too sick to work, his employer sent him home. By the time he arrived in Kathmandu, both his kidneys have stopped functioning the result of heat exposure and chronic dehydration. According to his doctor, Now, 31, he will likely be on dialysis for the rest of his life. The cheap aerial system. Holy year are also before they endured to the services and still we find lots of patients returning with kidney failure to our country. Presently around. 600% are on dialysis at Kidney Center in different branches of Nepal. 10% of the patients who are on dialysis Adult Center, call return The climate is getting hotter and this feeling of kidney failure, becoming more intense is ready to take care of the building. That is his patience. Are golf will remain the same attitude, no responsibility. Aren't they were intense? Something has to be done. Public Health. Experts, warn that chronic kidney disease could become a major health epidemic for outdoor workers as a planet continues to warm and migrant workers are especially vulnerable. Heat is killing workers, but officials in Qatar, rarely acknowledged its role death, certificates record an unusually high rate of what is simply called. Cardiac Arrest among those young. Seemingly healthy men have left home in search of work. So we saw a statistic from 2012 to 2020. There is 571, Nepali workers who died in Qatar, writing caracara, Stoneleigh will not Define. Any other languages are what may be the cause of death, the death of death of a particular person. There should be some antecedent and the contributors that was not mentioned in the middle of the death certificate. Our body. Can I claim it dies? If the temperature is more than 40 degrees, Centigrade the person will have some sort of heat-related complication. Flights from Kathmandu to Doha have increased substantially over the last decade, most months have about 150 flights on this route. In the years since to render left. Qatar conditions have actually improved from any laborers, we asked a construction company that he worked for about on-site heat labor protections, but they did not reply. So the Show the World Cup has accelerated, the International Labour Organization, along with heat scientists were divided to Qatar to study the impact of heat and humidity on worker Health. The result was legislation that increase the window of summer days and which work hours are restricted. It also expanded the midday summer work fan by 2 hours. Another Innovation is the use of a relatively new measurement that combined standard temperature and humidity to determine what is called a wet bulb Globe. Temperature Index, this measurement is essential to protecting outdoor workers because humidity impact the body's ability to sweat and the school down. when on the wet-bulb temperature index these conditions which is 32.1 and the third key measure from this legislation is that all out of workers, must undertake an annual health screening Qatar has eight stadiums ready for the soccer matches spread out across Doha. We toured Lucedale, the largest of them, which will host the final game of the 2022 World Cup. Although much criticism has been aimed at Qatar because of World Cup construction. The workers building the football stadiums. I've actually had some of the safest construction jobs in the last decade here and the new regulations have them prove them even more You can see. Today, this is a complete the stadium with air conditioning and it's fine when you're building. It is not, it feels almost as hot inside. This is outside every year. There are Lessons Learned every year, the science behind it, progresses and the authorities. Responsible for defining, those timings begin to understand the effect of heat on the workforce and on anybody being outdoors, enough time and adjust accordingly rights organization. Stay the thousands of Migrant workers have died since. Qatar was awarded the rights to host the World Cup. However, very few are tied to the stadiums in part. This is because the construction has been managed by the government, which is in, for stringent worker protection regulations, including for the private subcontractors working here. Contractors try to play dumb every Samoan. So their arms up every summer and say, oh, it's summer working hours again and we have to explain that. Yes, it is and you're a professional licenses. If I contract in the state of Qatar and those of the ministry of Labour, Ministry of Labour reported nearly 400, violations of the new heat protection policy for outdoor workers, reports from local Clinic show that emissions for heat stress have actually dropped by more than half from last summer. Indicating that the new rules may be working. How far is the most advanced in terms of legislation when it comes to keep heat regulations much easier to slow things down or even something completely? When we see things getting out of hand. It's much easier to do that now. And vile things in before, people are pushed beyond the system is. It's a very tough battle against private contractors there against the clock. They've been paid money to finish, they have liabilities on professional Indemnity. I need to finish the work and sometimes they do it. Regardless of course we needed government permits to visit all construction sites including this privately-run work site near the sale. Officials from the ministry of Labour. We're there and workers spoked with only in the presence of their supervisors. So how have you been told? The Kinks as workers here and Doha. What would you tell if you had a cousin coming from the Paul to work in Doha, what would you tell him to prepare for the Heat? Marinara by, I went to school with baking soda, take a lot of money. Is it easy to follow these rules? Your advice? Is it easy? The games will go on, but they leave behind questions about just how much the world's migrant labor force should be asked to sacrifice as wealthy Nations pursue Perpetual growth in a warming world. the World Cup is not the Finishing Line This between everybody recognizes that this is a longer-term and ever and it will take time to build The Government of Nepal is conflicted when it comes to demanding better conditions from the wealthy Nations, that helped deliver nearly a third of Nepal's GDP each year. Ramen Shop, Kota is a Nepali journalist who has been investigating labor conditions for Nepal's overseas, migrant workers. So, I mainly writing about the migrations and the displacement, you know, you make people away and 2, mg in teaspoons to go by writing this issue. yo, someone we spoke with the group of men who are where the difficult working conditions in the Gulf, but most still plan to go, Malaysia. How do you spell 7 + 51? 108. back in Kathmandu Surendra, who once dreamed of watching the world cup from a stadium in Qatar is instead just trying to stay healthy China Wok, Let me guess someone else. I will keep and anyone see a human Ma? But I'm kidney disease. How much they can't? You guys are going to Downey Park Produce hours in Longview. Lottery online. I had a big sign. Are you dumb? The mother garbage anniversary. 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