Qatar World Cup construction workers to get ‘cooling’ hats
Doha — Migrant workers building soccer stadiums in Qatar’s desert heat are to be given ‘cooling’ hard hats to reduce their body temperature and risk of suffering heat stroke, tournament organisers said. 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. 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. About 5,100 construction workers from Nepal, India and Bangladesh are building stadiums in the wealthy Gulf Arab state which has drawn charges by human rights groups of labour abuse, including poor safety at work and squalid living conditions. Summer temperatures in Qatar can reach 50°C and Doha enforces a ban on outdoo...
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