Qatar 2022: this is the technology with which they cool the stadiums in the middle of the desert

The average temperature in Qatar exceeds 40 degrees Celsius, one of the great concerns of all those involved in soccer when FIFA announced that the Middle Eastern country would host the World Cup. Nevertheless, for Qatar 2022, they prepared a technology to cool the stadiums.

Through an interactive report, the BBC He explained how the hosts keep the venues for each of the World Cup matches air-conditioned, taking the Al Yanub Stadium as an example and the importance of keeping hot air out of the venue.

“Fans in the stands are cooled by a system of vents under each seat. The small nozzles, which act like a shower head, allow the air to diffuse and envelop the spectators. The flow is smooth and different from the jet emanating from individual air vents above airplane seats.”, explains the report.

Now, what about the protagonists on the court? The report adds: “In Qatar’s humid environment it is harder for sweat to evaporate and the body can overheat, risking heat exhaustion. Thus, at the Mundia cold air is released from large nozzles in the stadiums to create a cool layer over the pitch”.

What do the experts say?

The air conditioning expert who helped develop the system, Saud Abdul Ghani, said that due to the angle of the vents and the way the cold air descends, gamers will barely feel a breeze.

“The result is a bubble of cold air inside the stadium, no more than two meters from the ground or the stands, instead of a blast of cold air shot into the desert sky”.

Then, as the cold air warms up, it is drawn into exhaust fans in the middle level of the stands. It is then filtered, cooled again and pumped into the stadium, completing the circuit.

On how the air is cooled to keep the stadium nice, hot air is cooled by flowing over pipes filled with cold water in heat exchangers in each corner of the stadium. When the cold water absorbs heat, it is pumped to a huge 40,000 liter storage tank three kilometers away. There it cools down again, ready for the next day’s game.

whole cooling system It is powered by a solar plant recently built about 80 km from the center of the capital of Qatar, Doha.