Qatar 2022 World Cup Weather

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Simon Culling
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Qatar 2022 World Cup Weather

Unread post by Simon Culling »

Putting aside the many other issues with the hosting of the 2022 World Cup by Qatar, what is the weather like there at the moment?

The first match is just 10 days away and today (Thursday 10th November) it was still hot + sunny and the maximum temperature at the main Hamad International Airport (just to the south of Doha) was 34.8°C after an overnight low of 28.1°C - this is at synop site number 41169. This is above average by a few degrees for the time of the year.

Average max/min for Doha for the beginning of December (when the competition is well underway) are around 27°C and 18°C respectively, so quite a bit of cooling required to return to average.

Attached is the national met office daily report for 10/11/2022.
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Simon Culling
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Re: Qatar 2022 World Cup Weather

Unread post by Simon Culling »

The weather has continued hot and sunny in Qatar this week and today, Wednesday 16th November, the max/min were 33.0°C/22.2°C at the Hamad International Airport.

The consensus forecast for Doha for Sunday (20th Nov - first match date) is for a sunny day and 28°C/22°C, but I think it will be warmer than that. However, the organisers claim the pitch side temperature will be maintained at 21°C by their wonderful 'green' technology, but it will be interesting to see if they release any verifiable readings. I think this is a very bold claim.
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Re: Qatar 2022 World Cup Weather

Unread post by Simon Culling »

I appreciate that this is a weather forum, but the issue of Qatar and the hosting of the World Cup resonates across our lives and more importantly, what we believe in. However you dress it up, the decision to host the World Cup in Qatar was a dreadful (and wrong) one, but it is where we are and the games will go ahead whether I like it or not or indeed whether I watch the games on TV or not. I wanted to make this point so that it is very clear what my stance is, but as I said, the games will be happening and we will have to see how they unfold. I think they will not progress without many difficulties, but money usually talks louder than protests. Time will tell.

Despite these grave reservations, I will continue to post a few weather details for anyone who may be interested.
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Re: Qatar 2022 World Cup Weather

Unread post by tgsnoopy »

Good on ya, go for it Simon. Whilst it's not something I'd bother to look at it if you weren't providing it, I am still interested. I'm sure others will feel the same.

Re the Green stadiums, it looks like the air conditioning may only be effective for the spectators, not the players on the field.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcKwaRw92fo&t=32s
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Re: Qatar 2022 World Cup Weather

Unread post by Simon Culling »

Thanks, spwill. it will be interesting to see how the humidity affects the players - I am guessing the European teams will feel the heat the most.

Not sure about that cooling technology, but I suppose, as usual, we will only get glowing reports about how successful it has been - and the usual complete absence of any actual verifiable data!!

With the opening ceremony due in a couple of hours, the weather seems to be playing ball and cooling a bit. These are the max/min temperatures for Hamad Intl Airport on recent days:

Friday 18th November - 32.8°C/23.8°C
Saturday 19th November - 29.8°C/24.8°C

Forecast for today (Sun 20th Nov) is sunny with a maximum of 29°C. The nights remain very warm + humid.
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Re: Qatar 2022 World Cup Weather

Unread post by Simon Culling »

England had a good start to their World Cup yesterday with a comfortable 6-2 win over Iran. The other opponents in their Group, Wales and the USA fought out a 1-1 draw. Both of these teams will provide a stiffer test for England in the coming days.

For yesterday, Monday 21st November, the 12Z (one hour before kick-off) observation for the Hamad Intl Airport had a temperature of 26.9°C and a dew point of 14.6°C which gives a relative humidity of 59%. The 15Z observation (just as the match was ending) reported 24.4°C/16.3°C with a humidity of 71%. The heat and humidity did not seem to affect the players of either team to any great extent.

It is a shame that England (and the other European teams) caved in to FIFA and did not wear the rainbow armbands under the threat of bookings and/or suspension from the tournament. I am afraid we are seeing the usual virtue signalling and bugger all else.
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Re: Qatar 2022 World Cup Weather

Unread post by Nev »

Simon Culling wrote: Wed 23/11/2022 06:08
For yesterday, Monday 21st November, the 12Z (one hour before kick-off) observation for the Hamad Intl Airport had a temperature of 26.9°C and a dew point of 14.6°C which gives a relative humidity of 59%. The 15Z observation (just as the match was ending) reported 24.4°C/16.3°C with a humidity of 71%. The heat and humidity did not seem to affect the players of either team to any great extent.

Looks like a typical summer's day in Auckland... :smile:

Your RH figures, however, seem a little too high, i.e. should be:

3pm temp 26.9°C + DP 14.6°C = 47% RH
6pm temp 24.4°C + DP 16.3°C = 61% RH
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Re: Qatar 2022 World Cup Weather

Unread post by Simon Culling »

Thanks, Nev. The humidity values I quoted were wrong as I used the formula incorrectly. The correct values are those quoted in your post.

Max/Min temps for the Hamad International Airport for 22/11/2022 were 27.8°C/20.5°C. It has definitely cooled down considerably since last week, although it remains sunny with just a few Cu.
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Re: Qatar 2022 World Cup Weather

Unread post by Simon Culling »

England's latest game, a rather boring 0-0 draw with the USA, was played at 7pm UK time (10pm Qatar time) on Friday (25th November) evening.

Temperature and dew point figures from the Hamad International Airport synops:

18Z (just before kick-off) - 26.1°C/18.1°C with RH of 61%

21Z (at the end of the game) - 25.2°C/18.3°C with RH of 66%

It had been another sunny day with a max of 30.4°C.
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Re: Qatar 2022 World Cup Weather

Unread post by Simon Culling »

In complete contrast to the dry and settled weather in Qatar, on the other side of the Arab Peninsula, the port city of Jeddah suffered a point deluge on Thursday 24th November with the National Centre of Meteorology reporting that 179mm of rain fell in the 6 hours between 8am and 2pm. There was extensive flooding.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2205676/saudi-arabia

https://twitter.com/Brave_spirit81/stat ... 8857028608

According to the Wikipedia page for Jeddah, the annual average rainfall for Jeddah is only 61mm, with 26mm of that in November. It obviously does not rain very often.
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Re: Qatar 2022 World Cup Weather

Unread post by Simon Culling »

England's final group game was a comfortable 3-0 win over one of our domestic rivals, Wales, on Tuesday 29th November and starting at 10pm local time.

The temperature and dew point at the Hamad International Airport were:

18Z (9pm local time) - 25.2°C/18.3°C

21Z (midnight local time) - 21.1°C/17.0°C

It had been another sunny day (with a few Cu) with a maximum of 28.8°C. It is very slowly cooling down.
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Re: Qatar 2022 World Cup Weather

Unread post by Simon Culling »

England had a comfortable 3-0 win over Senegal in the last 16 round of the World Cup on Sunday evening and now face France in the quarter finals next Saturday. France are the current holders of the World Cup.

Sunday was another mostly clear + sunny day in Doha and the maximum temperature at the Hamad International Airport was 28.3°C. It is slowly cooling and this trend looks set to continue through the coming week. I have not heard any of the teams complain about the heat during the games.
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Re: Qatar 2022 World Cup Weather

Unread post by Simon Culling »

The cooling trend has not really continued and the forecast maximums of 23°C to 25°C are consistently on the low side. Below are the maximum and minimum temperatures recorded at the Hamad International Airport in the last few days.

Monday 5th December - 27.4°C/19.6°C
Tuesday 6th December - 28.8°C/21.6°C
Wednesday 7th December - 28.6°C/24.6°C 1mm of rain from a shower
Thursday 8th December - 27.4°C/22.4°C

The forecast for Saturday has the possibility of a shower, but it should be dry by the evening for the England v France quarter final match.
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Re: Qatar 2022 World Cup Weather

Unread post by Orion »

Simon Culling wrote: Sat 10/12/2022 02:04 ... the England v France quarter final match.
Fingers X'd for that game _b
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Re: Qatar 2022 World Cup Weather

Unread post by Simon Culling »

Thanks Orion. The legacy of winning the World Cup way back in 1966 hangs heavily on the England team and the collective expectation of the nation can be a big burden for them. We have reached two semi-finals in more recent times (1990 + 2018) and lost on penalties in both of them. Perhaps it is our time this year?

The appears to have been what looks like a landspout about 50 miles (80km) north of Doha on Wednesday (7th December) in association with the showers recorded on that day. It was near to Ras Laffan.

https://twitter.com/WeatherWupk/status/ ... 4730641409
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Re: Qatar 2022 World Cup Weather

Unread post by spwill »

Some bad luck for England. French goals looked good.
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Re: Qatar 2022 World Cup Weather

Unread post by Simon Culling »

Thanks spwill - England were beaten by a good French side who took their chances - England did not, including the second penalty. A story of what might have been.

The weather on Saturday (10th Dec) appears to have seen more cloud with a few light showers in the morning, but some sunshine in the afternoon. The maximum at the Hamad International Airport for Saturday was cooler at 22.7°C after an overnight low of 20.2°C. The maximum temperature was back up to 25°C on Sunday and Monday.
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