Norway’s World Cup win triggers record water use and seismic tremors

Norway’s historic 2-1 victory over Brazil in the World Cup round of 16 on Sunday night set off a record surge in water consumption and mobile data traffic, Dagbladet reports.

An average of 1.92 million viewers watched the match, with a peak of 2.16 million. As the final whistle blew, Oslo’s water usage spiked by over 58 percent, shattering the previous record of 50 percent set after the match against Ivory Coast.

“It’s the highest short-term increase we’ve seen, apart from major leaks,” said Andreas Ståbø Normann, leak coordinator and senior duty officer at Oslo’s Water and Sewerage. “When the match starts, people stop using water as they normally would. Those who usually shower or use the toilet don’t. After the match, usage jumps dramatically.”

Mobile network operator Ice also recorded its highest-ever traffic, with 5G usage peaking as Norway secured the win. “When Norway decided the match, traffic in our network exploded,” said Shiraz Abid, Ice’s director, in a press release. Activity surged at kickoff, rose further after each goal, and hit its highest level at the final whistle.

The celebrations also registered on seismic sensors. Mathilde Bøttger Sørensen, a geophysics professor at the University of Bergen, confirmed that Norway’s seismic network detected tremors in Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim, and Stavanger.

“The first strong spike in Bergen came when Brazil missed a penalty around 22:14. Then we saw spikes in all cities when Norway scored, and again when the match ended. The strongest tremor in Bergen was when Haaland scored to make it 1-0,” Sørensen said.