Our reporter in Kansas City – where England’s training camp is – has penned his latest first-person piece, which today explores the heat and humidity Harry Kane and company have to face…
The first thing that hits you when you step off the plane in Kansas is the intense heat and humidity.
It washes over you like a wave when you walk down the aircraft steps onto the Tarmac.
The weather has been so extreme over the past few days that a ‘Tornado warning’ was in place from Wednesday into the early hours of Thursday.
It came three days before England are due to arrive on Saturday – with a thunderstorm forecast then, too.
So this World Cup is already marked by extremes in heat and humidity with the promise of yet more to come.
If England advance to the last 16, they are seeded to face Mexico in the world famous Azteca Stadium, the scene of Maradona’s infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal in 1986.
There, Harry Kane and his side – already showing signs of sunburn in Florida – will have the added issue of altitude.
Major buildings in Kansas City are prepared to protect the population with ‘Tornado evacuation rooms.’
Experts say the problem has been made worse by the impact of global warming and the ‘El Nino effect.
They take the Tornado warnings very seriously here.
It was noticeable how few people were on the streets downtown while the warning was in place.
Members of the Football Supporters Association who visited Mexico City on a recent recce said the effects of altitude were as marked as the heat.
With temperatures of 35C and high humidity in Kansas for the next three weeks, England will at least be accustomed to the extremes this tournament will present.
But they will face some of the toughest conditions yet to win the biggest World Cup in history.
Texas experiences some of the highest temperatures in the US so England fans will feel the heat at our opening game against Croatia.The forecast is for 30C and above during the day.
But the ‘feels like’ temperature is expected to approach 40C according to experts.
The Dallas stadium is one of the World Cup venues with a retractable roof and air-conditioning.This will make the game much more comfortable – and safer – for players and fans.
However, according to the heat index used by FIFA to measure how temperature affects human health, called the Wet Bulb Global Temperature (WBGT), a value above 28°C (82°F) is widely considered the threshold at which heat is a significant concern for elite athletes.On Monday, the WBGT is forecast to be around 30C in Miami. This represents a high-risk or extreme environment that Fifpro considers unsafe for play. Storms are also in the forecast.
If storms develop within eight miles of a World Cup stadium, the match must be suspended for at least 30 minutes.
This allows players, officials and fans to seek shelter and stay safe from the threat of being struck by lightning.Play can resume 30 minutes after the last lightning strike in the area.
