Politics

Mamdani promises housing ‘transformation’

Published

1 month ago

May 26, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced his housing plan blueprint for New York City in Brooklyn on Tuesday.

DAYS THE BUDGET IS LATE: 56

GETTING TO 200K: Mayor Zohran Mamdani released a wide-ranging housing plan today that he said will usher in the “largest municipal housing transformation this country has ever seen.”

The blueprint lays out how Mamdani plans to address the single biggest driver of the city’s affordability crisis, the central focus of the mayoral campaign that propelled him into City Hall.

While the plan lays out ambitious targets that would surpass past mayors if achieved — including the planned creation and preservation of a combined 400,000 affordable homes over a decade — it also illustrates how Mamdani is not reinventing the wheel on many housing issues, but rather leaning into or expanding policies pursued by his predecessors.

The plan seeks to tackle a range of coinciding crises: the severe shortage of available housing; a public housing system that’s crumbling and facing massive capital needs; and a rental housing stock that is experiencing growing distress as operating costs skyrocket.

“If the absence of good government created the conditions we now face, the presence of good government can build the solutions we now need,” Mamdani said in a speech announcing the plan in Brooklyn’s Gowanus section, where a city-led rezoning enacted nearly five years ago has spurred a residential building boom.

Mamdani is already encountering the limits of some of his campaign promises and moderating costly plans as his administration grapples with a strained municipal budget. On the campaign trail, the mayor said he would create 200,000 publicly-subsidized homes over a decade, tripling current rates of production. He is standing by that goal, while also pledging to preserve another 200,000 affordable homes.

“Scaling to these levels of affordable housing production will not be easy and cannot be done overnight,” the blueprint states. The administration is aiming to create some 14,000 affordable homes in fiscal year 2027, which starts July 1, while ramping up to 21,000 units per year by fiscal year 2031.

Under the blueprint released Tuesday, Mamdani’s housing department plans to finance 8,000 new affordable homes in fiscal years 2027 and 2028 — which would grow subsidized housing by more than 35 percent from the prior two years. But the plan does not spell out specifically how the administration will produce roughly 12,000 remaining units annually to get to Mamdani’s 200,000-unit goal.

Much of that additional affordable housing will rely on zoning, tax and other financing tools rather than direct city subsidies. And it would require the private sector to embrace those tools. — Janaki Chadha

From the Capitol

New York State Assemblymember Jeff Dinowitz said he voted in favor of the state budget bills due to favored changes for Tier VI.

‘BIG UGLY’ VOTE: The Legislature spent the better part of today plowing through votes on the budget’s “big ugly” bill, which contains most of the hot-button issues in this year’s spending plan.

“This bill has some really good stuff in it and some really bad stuff,” said Assemblymember Jeff Dinowitz, who cited Tier VI pension plan changes when speaking about his “yes” vote. “I look forward to seeing the positive impact it’s going to have on many, many state workers.”

That was the common theme that emerged among Democratic during today’s debate — they hate the rollbacks to the climate law, but they’re also supportive of the inclusion of what Republican Assemblymember Michael Fitzpatrick dubbed “the mother of all pension sweeteners” that they reluctantly voted yes. That line of reasoning appeared especially common from members who, like Dinowitz, have Democratic primaries in four weeks and stand to face attacks for being weak on the environment.

“This is not an easy vote for me,” said Assemblymember Grace Lee, who’s running for an open Senate seat and wound up backing the bill because of Tier VI.

“I am voting yes because I refuse to deny hardworking union members and retirees the retirement security they have worked years to achieve,” Assemblymember Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas said.

Gonzalez-Rojas also took time to slam the climate law changes.

“Communities like Jackson Heights, Corona, East Elmhurst, Elmhurst, LeFrak City have already experienced the consequences of environmental injustice,” she said. “Climate change is not theoretical for our communities. It is personal.”

That might be another indication of just how much budget season has blended into primary season. Not all of those neighborhoods fall within Gonzalez-Rojas’ district — but they’re a perfect description of the Senate district where she’s challenging fellow Democrat Jessica Ramos next month. — Bill Mahoney

FROM CITY HALL

Fans often gather around Madison Square Garden for watch parties during and after Knicks games.

MEANWHILE, IN KNICKS WORLD: Mamdani appeared to indicate today that watch parties will be back outside Madison Square Garden during next month’s NBA finals.

“They will be there,” Mamdani said with a laugh when asked at an unrelated press conference if the partying will resume outside the iconic arena next month when the Knicks play their first NBA finals in nearly three decades.

But a Mamdani spokesperson told Playbook that the mayor wasn’t referring to official watch parties. Rather, the spokesperson said he was talking about how Knicks fans inevitably gather outside the Garden during and after games to celebrate or mourn — oftentimes in rather raucous fashion.

Whether official watch parties — replete with massive screens showing the games — will be back outside the Garden during the finals, the Mamdani spokesperson wouldn’t say, adding that plans are still being finalized.

“It’s not a question of if there will be watch parties but where,” spokesperson Dora Pekec said.

The issue could become a bone of contention for Knicks fans.

Last week, the city pulled MSG’s permit to hold its usual large-scale parties outside the arena during Knicks games due to concerns from the NYPD about public drinking and other debauchery. During one of the Knicks’ Eastern Conference Finals games against the Cleveland Cavaliers last week, six people were arrested in connection with the outdoor watch party.

The NYPD’s decision to put the kibosh on the parties may infuriate Knicks fans who are ecstatic about their team making it to the NBA finals for the first time since 1999. Mamdani, an avid Knicks fan, is already facing tension with NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch over how to police this summer’s World Cup, as previously reported by POLITICO, and an MSG dispute could drive a further wedge.

With the outdoor party permit scrapped, MSG hosted a watch party at Radio City Music Hall for the Knicks’ clincher against the Cavs last night.

No matter what, Mamdani said at today’s press conference that Knicks fans will be able to cheer on their team at a variety of watch parties across the city during next month’s finals.

“We’re looking forward to making sure that it is a time for New Yorkers to celebrate, it’s a time that they’re also safe,” he said. “We’re going to have a number of different kinds of watch parties, and we’ll get back to you as we keep going through those plans.”

The Knicks will face either the San Antonio Spurs or Oklahoma City Thunder in the finals next month. The first game in the series is set for June 3. — Chris Sommerfeldt

FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

Congressional primary debates will begin to take place in June, including the crowded NY-12 race for retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler.

DEBATE-A-PALOOZA: Got plans in June? How about a congressional primary debate — or six?

After forums galore across the city’s competitive primaries, a slew of televised debates are on the books ahead of the June 23 election: two each for the races to replace retiring Reps. Nydia Velázquez and Jerry Nadler, and another two for Rep. Dan Goldman’s primary challenge from former City Comptroller Brad Lander.

All debates will be live at 7 p.m., with the exception of the first NY-07 debate on June 3, which will be prerecorded earlier that day and air at 7 p.m. Here’s when to block off your schedule:

— June 1: Goldman and Lander will be facing off for their first televised debate, hosted by Spectrum News NY1. NY1’s Errol Louis and Courtney Gross will moderate the program.

Goldman’s campaign has frequently criticized Lander for not agreeing to partake in seven debates.

— June 3: State Assemblymember Claire Valdez, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and City Council member Julie Won will take the stage as they vie for Velázquez’s seat. The debate will be hosted by NY1 and moderated by Louis and Gross. Public defender Vichal Kumar is also on the ballot, though he did not qualify for the debate.

— June 4: The four leading candidates looking to succeed Nadler will meet in a PIX11 debate: state Assemblymembers Micah Lasher and Alex Bores, Kennedy scion Jack Schlossberg and anti-Trump commentator George Conway. It will be moderated by Dan Mannarino.

— June 9: Another NY-12 debate will be hosted by NY1 and WNYC. Louis and WNYC’s Brian Lehrer and Brigid Bergin will moderate. This debate is set to feature Bores, Conway, Lasher, Schlossberg and public health practitioner Nina Schwalbe.

Schwalbe, a progressive candidate who has struggled to break through in the crowded field, has frequently criticized media coverage and events for not including her. A handful of other lesser-known candidates are also on the ballot next month.

— June 10: Valdez, Reynoso and Won will partake in a PIX11 debate, with Mannarino moderating.

— June 15: PIX11 will host Goldman and Lander for another showdown, moderated by Mannarino.

Early voting starts June 13. — Madison Fernandez

MUM-DANI: Mamdani is noncommittal about getting involved in the competitive race in what is now his home district.

When asked by PIX11’s Henry Rosoff who he’s voting for in the Democratic primary to succeed Nadler, Gracie Mansion’s newest resident laughed and said he hadn’t made a decision but is “following the race as a keen constituent.”

“At this time, I would say that I’ve focused on the two decisions I’ve made thus far,” Mamdani continued, referring to his endorsements for Lander and Valdez.

Bores recently said he would “love” to have Mamdani’s backing. Lasher, meanwhile, is getting campaign help from political strategist Morris Katz, an architect of Mamdani’s win last year. A recent Emerson College/PIX11 poll found that Mamdani has a strong approval rating, at 66 percent, among Democratic primary voters in the district. But a Mamdani endorsement could also turn off some Jewish voters — a prominent constituency in the district — who are not fans of the mayor.

“It was a pleasure to serve with both of them in Albany,” Mamdani said of Bores and Lasher. — Madison Fernandez

ENDORSEMENT CORNER: Abundance New York rolled out its voter guide on Tuesday, highlighting candidates in competitive races who the group’s executive director Catherine Vaughan said in a statement are “willing to actually build the things New York needs.”

They include Reynoso and Lander, as well as a dual-endorsement for Bores and Lasher. (The group said that between Bores and Lasher, it “cannot recommend one over the other at this time, but we may revisit as the race continues.”)

The endorsements aren’t exactly all glowing. In the rationale for Reynoso, it states that his “record has not always supported our agenda, but we have decided to take his evolution at face value and to commit to holding him to his word.”

The blurb about Lander acknowledged that the group has “concerns about [his] record and some of his current stances,” including opposing some rezonings during his time on the Council and supporting a ban on what the group described as “investor-owned ‘build-to-rent’ housing.” The guide also states that the group is “dismayed at his demand that Brooklyn Marine Terminal development be delayed; this is a NIMBY stance that seems cynically targeted at Goldman’s leadership on the issue.” Despite that, Abundance New York pointed to Lander’s “record on housing production, transit, and the local land-use machinery in this district” and said it thinks he “would prioritize the built environment issues that we champion more strongly.”

The group is also backing Drew Warshaw — the affordable housing nonprofit executive who’s one of two primary challengers to state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli — along with a handful of candidates in the state Legislature and City Council member Carl Wilson. — Madison Fernandez

IN OTHER NEWS

— THINGS GO SOUTH: Mamdani-backed congressional candidate Claire Valdez, who has called to abolish ICE, is facing scrutiny over her father’s work for a firm involved in Texas border projects. (New York Post)

— WHAT’S IN A NAME: Internal renderings for the Penn Station overhaul project show a presidential seal featuring Donald Trump’s name alongside a redesigned train hall. (Gothamist)

— ACROSS THE AISLE: Brooklyn’s Park Slope Food Co-op is split over a looming vote to boycott Israeli products from the socially conscious grocery store. (The New York Times)

Missed this morning’s New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here.

Politics

Inside the DHS’s World Cup nerve center

Published

29 minutes ago

July 2, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Every day, FBI intelligence officials, weather forecasters, diplomats, security coordinators and people from more than a dozen federal agencies gather on a conference line for what has become one of the most unusual meetings in Washington.

It’s dubbed the “WISLE call” — an acronym that stands for Warning/Weather, Intent, Safety/Security, Logistics/Communications and Event Operations. And it happens every morning around 10 a.m. Eastern during the FIFA World Cup, which is about to enter its fourth week.

From a secure operations floor inside FEMA’s Washington headquarters, officials spend about 30 minutes running through the day’s World Cup matches, touching on everything from extreme heat advisories and fan festivals to cartel activity in Mexico, drone threats, visa issues and stadium security.

On Tuesday, when Brazil played Japan in Houston and Germany faced Paraguay in Boston, the biggest concern on the call wasn’t terrorism. It was the weather.

“The main story over the next couple of days is going to be building heat across the central and eastern United States,” a National Weather Service official told the group. Philadelphia, Boston and New York were all under heat watches, while Houston officials reported temperatures nearing 95 degrees with a heat index above 100.

The daily briefing offers a rare window into the machinery and threat assessments that underpin the largest sporting event ever hosted in North America.

The command center resembles a national emergency operations center more than a sports headquarters. Ten Homeland Security agencies including TSA, Customs and Border Protection, and FEMA work side-by-side on a watch floor staffed around the clock. The State Operations Coordination Center for Event Response — yes another “SOCCER” acronym — is also involved.

About 50 people occupy the physical operations center during 12-hour shifts, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and again overnight, monitoring every match, fan festival and emerging threat across the United States. The center works closely with the International Police Cooperation Center in Leesburg, Virginia, where law enforcement officials from participating countries work alongside U.S. officials. Monday’s “WISLE” call began with intelligence — and, again, concerns about extreme weather.

An FBI official updated participants on the coming heat wave, noting the bureau was coordinating with federal, state and local partners ahead of the July 4th holiday while also tracking security implications as national teams exited the tournament and closed their training camps.

From there, officials moved city by city. In Boston, clear weather for the sellout crowd of nearly 66,000 for Germany-Paraguay. In Houston, preparations were underway for heat-related illnesses for the Brazil-Japan match.

The State Department’s representative dialed in from the Joint Coordination Center at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City with an update spanning three countries. Mexican police had dismantled a criminal group targeting tourists around World Cup venues, Vancouver’s fan festival had reached capacity during Canada’s match, and officials were monitoring large fan gatherings expected later that evening in both Mexico City and Monterrey.

Despite the long checklist of potential problems, nearly every operational report ended the same way: “All teams are green.”

Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House World Cup Task Force, used his remarks to thank FEMA and Homeland Security personnel while highlighting accomplishments across the federal government that extended well beyond soccer.

He praised U.S. Marshals for recovering 35 missing and endangered children during Operation Yellow Card in Boston, noted DEA fentanyl seizures in Kansas City and public health operations led by Health and Human Services and the CDC. He also announced that the mother of the Capo Verde goalkeeper had successfully received a visa to travel to the United States. “The behind-the-scenes work that goes into it,” Giuliani said, “is one of the reasons we’re able to talk now halfway through the World Cup about the incredible success.”

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin pointed to what he called the largest counter-drone operation ever assembled for a sporting event in the United States, saying officials had confiscated more than 500 drones while also using the tournament’s security posture to pursue human trafficking networks, fentanyl traffickers and counterfeit operations.

Because stadium security has remained stable, he said, law enforcement has been able to focus resources elsewhere.

“Because you guys are doing such a good job making sure that the games are going off without any major issues,” Mullin said, “we’re able to focus on other things.”

Politics

Why this year’s World Cup is so pricey

Published

1 hour ago

July 2, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Americans are breaking the bank to attend the FIFA World Cup.

This year’s tournament is historically expensive for fans looking to support their favorite teams in person. Tickets for group stage matches routinely cost more than $1,000 in the months before tournament kickoff, reportedly even drawing the ire of President Donald Trump.

Ticket problems don’t end there. A number of states have launched investigations into whether FIFA misled fans over the location and quality of seats they bought to attend matches. Many fans who bought tickets on resale sites have fallen victim to ghost ticketing, in which resellers flog tickets they don’t actually have.

To get a better sense of it all, Blue Light News talked to Florian Ederer, a professor of markets, public policy and law at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business — and a soccer super fan. He’s written extensively about World Cup ticket pricing and access during the tournament, and hopped on the phone the day before his beloved Austria takes on Spain in a knockout match Thursday.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

Why are World Cup tickets so expensive this year?

Well, there are several factors in this. Number one is that this is the biggest sports event in the world. There’s tremendous demand for it. It only happens every four years. FIFA basically has a monopoly on this biggest sports event, there’s nothing that sort of can supplant it. You can’t start a rival league or anything of that sort. Secondly, the event is being held in the United States and in Canada and in Mexico, in particular the U.S. and Canada. These are some of the richest countries in the world, they have also very, very, very large populations, and Mexico does too.

You also talk about another phenomenon, that FIFA has realized this is an opportunity to maximize profits.

It has also adopted two additional things. One is price discrimination, which is that all the group stage matches of previous World Cups were all priced exactly the same. And here, FIFA has taken the approach, well, England vs. Croatia is a more interesting match than Algeria vs. Jordan, and so we’re going to set prices higher for England Croatia than for Algeria Jordan.

They’ve also introduced dynamic pricing, so the price that I get charged for buying a ticket, even if it’s the same ticket for the same game, is going to be different depending on when I buy. Basically like buying a ticket for an airline.

The third tactic that FIFA has engaged in — in addition to price discrimination, dynamic pricing — is that they’ve also done some very opaque supply management, where they’ve not made it clear at all as to how many tickets are actually available at any given time, and they’ve created a little bit this artificial scarcity where they want to keep fans in the dark as to whether they should buy now at higher prices, or just wait until the very end, and maybe get a good deal close to the start of a game.

Then there’s ghost ticketing and other practices out on the secondary market that sometimes leave fans outside a World Cup stadium arena with no tickets, even though they spent the money on a resale platform.

This is something that I think is separate from FIFA. I think the problem there is that the platforms have not used sufficient fines and punishment for resellers that are not fulfilling these promised transactions. The reason they are not fulfilling those transactions is because they resold those tickets for a potentially very interesting match already three months before, and then the prices increase even further, and then the temptation is, of course, to not deliver on that transaction, and instead resell it on another platform for even higher markups. And this is, of course, when these platforms should step in and say, look, you know, somebody was deceived here. We need to institute fines to keep those non-reputable sellers off our platforms.

Are there any steps the federal government could take to make things easier for consumers next time around?

I think there should be much clearer guidance that gives consumers information about how many seats are actually available and what are the prices, and then I think that’s an issue of just consumer transparency and lack of deception that can absolutely pass with legislation. Similarly, with those ghost tickets, I think you should be able to hold the platform liable for these issues, rather than just any particular seller, and the platforms should have to compensate these buyers for other charges that they incurred. If I’m buying a vacation to Dallas to see Austria vs. Argentina, then I’m not just buying the ticket on a platform, but I’m making everything else reliant on that ticket.

—

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has defended the high cost of attendance in recent months, telling an audience at the Milken Institute Global Conference in California in May that the organization was applying “market rates” to its tickets.

“We have to look at the market — we are in the market in which entertainment is the most developed in the world. So we have to apply market rates,” Infantino said. “In the U.S. it is permitted to resell tickets as well. So if you were to sell tickets at the price which is too low, these tickets will be resold at a much higher price.”

Politics

The World Cup has returned to a radically hotter America

Published

1 hour ago

July 2, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Dangerously hot temperatures are blanketing the central and eastern United States as the soccer tournament enters its knockout rounds, putting tens of millions of people at risk.

Roughly a quarter of all matches since the start of the games are expected to be played in hazardous heat, according to an analysis by World Weather Attribution, which models how climate change influences extreme weather events. It also warns that the wet bulb global temperature — a measure of temperature, humidity and factors affecting heat stress in the human body — could rise high enough to justify postponing some games. Sticky, hot weather is not unusual in North America during summer. But extreme heat has intensified since the U.S. last hosted the World Cup in 1994.

“Around half of human-caused climate change has occurred since the World Cup was last hosted in North America in 1994. As a result, the climate that the tournament is being played in today has fundamentally shifted in just 32 years,” Joyce Kimutai, an extreme weather and climate change researcher at Imperial College London and lead author of the WWA study, said in an email.

Players aren’t the only ones that are affected. Fans often spend hours in stifling heat while attending outdoor celebrations or watch festivals. Stadium workers are also at risk. Organizers have attempted to reduce the threat by installing cooling stations and scheduling some games at off-peak heat hours. But the current heat wave could hit the games hard.

The National Weather Service estimates that more than 175 million people will endure temperatures this week that put them at major or extreme risk of heat-related health impacts. Some of the places facing the greatest dangers include World Cup host cities like Philadelphia, New York and Atlanta, where street parties filled with sweaty crowds and free-flowing alcohol put fans at greater risk of heat illness.

“A whole bunch of warm bodies standing close to each other does make it more difficult to cool down,” said Kristie Ebi, a scientist at the University of Washington who specializes in climate change and public health. “And alcohol of course is not a fluid one drinks for hydration. It tends to dehydrate people.”

Some host cities, like Kansas City, are bracing for this week’s heat after enjoying cooler-than-average temperatures during the tournament. Others, like Miami, have been sweltering since the games began.

“Pretty much every game in Miami has been played under oppressively hot and humid conditions,” said Tom DiLiberto, media director at Climate Central, which reports on the impacts of climate change and has been tracking its effects on the World Cup games.

Three games at Miami’s open-air stadium have been held at 6 p.m., when the sun is near its hottest point of the day. Climate Central estimates that there is a “high likelihood” that heat could impact player performance at all seven matches in Miami’s stadium and that climate change is increasing the odds of such heat by up to 20 percentage points.

Officials in Miami-Dade County say they’ve been tailoring their heat protocols since the World Cup began, adding new interventions as they experience the matches. The county’s emergency management department has added additional hydration stations near the stadium and elsewhere in the city, as well as cooling and misting stations, after observing a lot of people in need of relief. Officials have also tailored the languages on signs directing international visitors to cooling stations.

“We’ve learned from each of these matches,” said Jesse Spearo, assistant director of Miami-Dade’s department of emergency management. “Each one has changed a little bit.”

Other host cities have turned to Miami for advice. “Weather has always been kind of a big talking point with this group because Miami is always hot,” Spearo said. “We have been coordinating with them … saying this is what we’ve been doing for people, this is what we’ve learned, this is what you should be emphasizing to fans.”

Public health agencies that track heat-related hospitalizations in host cities say they haven’t seen statistical spikes directly linked to the World Cup. But fan celebrations have offered cautionary tales: 110 heat-related medical incidents were reported at a Houston fan festival on the World Cup’s opening day, FOX Weather reported. And Miami-Dade’s fire rescue teams have reported an uptick in heat-related illnesses among people requiring medical transport, Spearo said.

The extreme temperatures this week could put host cities under strain.

State and county emergency management agencies in most host cities affected by the heat wave did not respond to requests for comment on their heat action plans. A spokesperson for the Dallas emergency management office referred questions to the city’s FIFA organizing committee, which referred questions to FIFA.

A FIFA spokesperson said climate-related risks “are assessed as part of overall tournament planning and managed in close coordination with the host cities, stadium authorities and national agencies.” It’s working with medical experts and national meteorological and emergency management authorities on contingency plans, the spokesperson said.

Ebi, the public health expert, said the biggest challenges around the collision of extreme heat and international sporting events often revolve around communication strategies.

“The protections that need to be in place for periods of high temperatures are the same for all human beings,” she said. “What’s different is how do you reach people who may not be watching the news? How do you reach people who may not have English as a first language?

As public health experts worry about spectators in this week’s heat, some scientists also worry that FIFA isn’t doing enough to protect its players.

It’s “absolutely ridiculous” for FIFA to be hosting games at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. in a place like Miami, said Douglas Casa, a kinesiology professor at the University of Connecticut and head of the Korey Stringer Institute, which researches ways to prevent athlete deaths from things like extreme heat.

“We can anticipate the risks, and there’s a lot of strategies you can have in place to absolutely minimize the risks,” he said, pointing to holding games later in the day, extending hydration breaks when temperatures are high and having aggressive cooling strategies during halftime.

Casa signed onto a May letter to FIFA with more than 20 climate and public health experts that called FIFA’s current guidelines on heat stress mitigation “inadequate” and “impossible to justify,” saying they could put players at risk of heat injury.

FIFA’s heat guidelines for players only mandate cooling breaks if the wet bulb global temperature, or WBGT, exceeds 32 degrees Celsius (89.6 degrees F). It leaves the decision to cancel or suspend a match to the organizers.

That doesn’t line up with guidance from the global players’ union known as FIFPRO, which recommends breaks once the WBGT exceeds 26 degrees and says matches should be delayed if the WBGT temperatures top 28 degrees.

“FIFPRO believes that FIFA’s guidelines do not do enough to protect the health and performance of players,” the organization says on its website.

“FIFA continues to monitor conditions in real time, integrating Wet Bulb Globe Temperature and Heat Index surveillance, and stands ready to apply established contingency protocols should extreme weather events occur,” the FIFA spokesperson said. “Outdoor matches during the hottest parts of the day have been strategically limited, kick-off times adjusted in certain markets, and matches expected in warmer windows prioritised for covered stadiums where possible.”

When Qatar hosted the last men’s World Cup in 2022, FIFA moved the matches to November to avoid the hottest time of year. But summers elsewhere are quickly becoming a concern as climate change accelerates.

Temperatures are forecast to be close to 100 degrees on Saturday when Paraguay takes on France in Philadelphia. Even Toronto, which isn’t used to such extreme heat, is expected to see temperatures in the 90s for its Thursday game.

It also doesn’t end with this year’s matches, said DiLiberto from Climate Central. The next men’s World Cup in 2030 will be in Morocco, Spain and Portugal — areas that saw a major heatwave this month and have much less access to air conditioning.

“If you take these sorts of huge events and put them in incredibly hot conditions in places without air conditioning, you can expect to see a whole host of other health issues,” DiLiberto said.