News agencies mentioned that “Migrant workers building football stadiums in Qatar’s desert heat are to be given ‘cooling’ hard hats to reduce their body temperature and risk of suffering heat stroke, according to tournament organisers”.
Scientists at Qatar University designed the solar-powered hard hats to improve conditions for 2022 World Cup labourers who rights groups say have suffered abuses.
The helmets, which can provide cooling in hot temperatures for up to four hours, will be introduced at all World Cup building sites next summer, said an official from Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, the body overseeing the tournament’s organisation.
A fan in the top of the helmet blows air over a cold pack onto the person’s face reducing skin temperature by up to 10 degrees centigrade, said Saud Ghani, an engineering professor at Qatar University.
“Our objective was to reduce heat stress and heat strokes for workers in Qatar and the region,” said Ghani.
Summer temperatures in Qatar can reach 50 degrees and Doha enforces a ban on outdoor work for several hours a day during the hottest months of the year.
But migrant workers have complained about heat exhaustion and dehyrdration while working in summer.
American athletes have used body-based cooling technology including “ice hats” to improve their performance but this would be the first time the technology has been used on a widescale basis in construction.
Source: News Agencies
