“In anticipation of extreme heat during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, scientists and engineers at Qatar University have developed a solar-powered gas-filled cloud that will shade spectators and athletes from the intense sun. The $500,000 artificial clouds can be positioned over any of the stadiums in Qatar and can be maneuvered with a remote control from the ground to keep the passing sun off the field.”
From the DailyMail Online article:
Saud Abdul Ghani, head of the mechanical and industrial engineering department, told Gulf News the ‘clouds’ are made from a lightweight carbon structure carrying a giant envelope of material containing helium gas.
Four solar powered engines move the structure via remote control.
All I can say is: with their recent track record in launching climate related missions, don’t let NASA build it. Beyond the artist rendition below, I have not found any actual plans, drawings, or other indications that the ‘port-o-clouds’ are even engineered yet.
Solar powered? I guess nobody noticed the megawatts worth of electrical transmission lines nearby to run a/c unit if needed, as seen below.
From the Guardian, it seems there is even more trouble:
Al-Rayyan stadium, Qatar. Preparations for the 2022 World Cup will involve the ‘possible enslavement of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of impoverished south Asian migrant workers’. Photograph: Fadi Al-Assaad/Reuters
See more at: whyqatar2022.com
Why not a bunch of surplus WW2 barrage balloons tied together in an array and tether it to a bunch of camels that position the array to keep the shadow over the stadium? KISS…
Wouldn’t a flying carpet do the same thing at less cost?