What will the weather in Qatar be during the World Cup?

The planet will soon experience something that has never occurred in hundreds of years of footballing history - a winter World Cup.

FIFA's decision to award Qatar the tournament threw up a number of logistical problems, one of which being when it would be played, given it gets quite hot to say the least in the Middle East during the European summer months.

Here's why the World Cup is being played in November and December this year.

What will the weather in Qatar be during the World Cup?

It's going to be pretty hot. The average temperature in Qatar over a year is 29 degrees celsius, but it can hit 40 during their summer months.

While the World Cup is going ahead in November and December, it is expected to be around 21 to 26 degrees. Those temperatures are more similar to what players in the Northern Hemisphere are used to.

Why was the World Cup moved from the European summer to winter?

One of the logistical problems that came up immediately when Qatar was awarded the World Cup was when it would be played. The summer months in Qatar are far too hot to play professional football and would have put players at risk of heat-related illnesses.

In 2015, FIFA decided that, instead of playing in June and July - the months traditionally associated with the World Cup - the tournament would instead be moved to November and December. While this move alleviated concerns about the climate in the Middle East, it gave leagues around the world a scheduling problem to solve.

There will be a break in most leagues around the world to accommodate the World Cup, though most players will only have around a week or two to prepare for their first games at the tournament.

The Premier League's final games before the break take place on 12/13 November, with the first game between Qatar and Ecuador kicking off a week later.

How will players and fans stay cool in Qatar?

Due to the extreme heat, organisers have implemented all eight of Qatar's World Cup stadiums with air conditioning to keep players and supporters cool at games.

Grills in the stands and nozzles on the pitch will be used and powered by solar energy - the technology has been designed to pull in dirty air and clean it.

Dr Saud Abdulaziz Abdul Ghani, professor of mechanical engineering at Qatar University, was placed in charge of the project.

He told FIFA.com: "We are not just cooling the air, we're cleaning it.

"We're purifying the air for spectators. For example, people who have allergies won't have problems inside our stadiums as we have the cleanest and purest air there is.

"Pre-cooled air comes in through grills built into the stands and large nozzles alongside the pitch. Using the air circulation technique, cooled air is then drawn back, re-cooled, filtered and pushed out where it is needed."

Qatar weather records

The hottest temperature ever recorded in Qatar was 50.4 degrees celsius at Doha Airport in 2010 - only ten countries in Asia have endured harsher heat. The previous record was 49.6 degrees celsius at the same location.

What time is it in Qatar?

The United Kingdom is currently two hours behind Qatar, though that will increase to three hours once BST is replaced by GMT in the UK before the tournament begins.

The time difference will not hamper viewers around Europe, with the latest kick off time being 19:00.

• World Cup news