A fire broke out at an under-construction building on an island that’s part of the city of Lusail, Qatar, ahead of the match between Argentina and Mexico on Saturday, November 26. According to Qatari authorities, the fire has been brought under control and no injuries have been reported in the fire. 

Qatar’s Interior Ministry said that the fire started in the afternoon about 3.5 kilometers (2 miles) from Lusail Stadium, which is hosting several games during the FIFA World Cup 2022 tournament. Thick black smoke could be bellowing from the site of the blaze, which was visible from a marketplace in central Doha as World Cup fans gathered among its shops and restaurants.

Also Read | Kylian Mbappe scores a brace against Denmark in FIFA World Cup 2022: Watch

A number of videos were uploaded on social media which showed the enormous plume of smoke rising into the skies above. See some of those videos below:

Reports of the fire came in the wake of Qatar grappling with fast-rising temperatures across the nation. It almost reached 32 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit) in November and cool air had to be blasted at a suburban park near Doha, the capital city of Qatar.

Also Read | Argentina vs Mexico FIFA World Cup 2022: Head-to-head, stats, predicted lineup

The park has air-conditioned paths and has become an apt illustration of how World Cup host Qatar is dealing with climate change. Thanks to the natural gas it exports to the world the energy-rich Gulf Arab nation has been able to afford extreme adaptive measures such as these. The main culprit is the warming waters of the Persian Gulf, a shallow, narrow sea that majorly causes stifling humidity in Qatar during some months.

“It’s a pretty difficult environment. It’s quite hostile,” said Karim Elgendy, an associate fellow at the London-based Chatham House think tank.