"Thousands of migrant workers died in Qatar's extreme heat. The World Cup forced a reckoning," 3 Nov 2022

This year, the World Cup will start on Nov. 20, five months later than usual, to spare players and fans the worst of the region’s blisteringly hot summer… To make it happen, Qatar relied on a global supply chain of laborers willing to work in any conditions—a desperation fueled in part by the impacts of climate change… Thousands of those workers have died over the past decade, many because of poor working conditions made more perilous by excessive heat.

Doha’s daily high temperatures are now 1.4°F warmer in summer, on average, than when the World Cup was announced 12 years ago. The Middle East is one of the fastest-warming places on the planet…

In contemporary Qatar, however, workers can still be protected from the effects of excessive heat. That so many were not over the past decade is a stain on the country’s legacy. But it is also a learning opportunity. The World Cup spotlight forced drastic changes in labor regulations that, since their implementation last year, have made Qatar a world leader in heat protection and a useful laboratory for a better understanding of what works—and does not work—in an era of climate change…

[Refers to Redco Construction Al Mana & Doha Oasis; companies did not provide comment to TIME.]