France-Australia: stadium air conditioner turned on despite 23 degrees outside

It will be 23 degrees in Al Wakra, the area where the Al Janoub stadium is located, around 20:00 (local time) on Tuesday, where the French team will face Australia for the World Cup in Qatar. Temperatures are moderate and a light breeze makes the air quite fresh, to say the least.

However, the air conditioning works entirely in the cabinet. We saw it ourselves in the press box, where the little channels coming out of the concrete give off an icy breath. The stadium is still empty less than two hours before kick-off, but the air conditioning seems to be programmed to minimum. At the edge of the field with other methods of aeration, the situation is the same.

This case is all the more incomprehensible because in the region of Al-Janub the population adopted a measure of very moderate temperature. On Tuesday, the volunteer in charge of dispatching supporters was wearing a long-sleeved down jacket. If a few people, most, wear T-shirts or shirts without anything superfluous, then others prefer to wrap themselves in a suit jacket or carry a scarf with them. No doubt in anticipation of the air conditioner that causes heat and cold that can make you sick.

So far, all the matches we’ve covered for Le Parisien have had the air conditioning on, whether it was (relatively) hot or not at all. On Sunday and Monday, strong winds chilled Doha, the capital city where most of the World Cup matches take place. It is winter here (there are only two seasons in Qatar), and before dark around 17:00 (local) the sun scorches, but never exceeds 31 degrees. It remains to be seen whether it will be cut at the start.