Antinuclear

Climate change already impacting Australia’s sports

Grassroots sports at risk from heatwaves due to climate change, report warns, Guardian, Oliver Milman  31 Jan 15 Extreme heat policies of sports such as tennis, Aussie rules and cricket will have to find ways to better protect the wellbeing of competitors as temperatures rise Climate change will threaten the viability of grassroots sport in Australia, and elite tournaments will have to adapt to rising temperatures, extreme rainfall and shrinking snow cover, a report has warned.

The extreme heat policies of sports such as tennis, Aussie rules and cricket will have to “dramatically improve” to protect the health of competitors at all levels, the Climate Institute analysis concluded.

The report, featuring a foreword from former AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou, warned that while elite sport might be able to adapt to a changing climate, the “ability to respond at local sporting grounds is more questionable”.

The Climate Institute compiled the report in the wake of the blistering heat that affected the Australian Open tennis tournament last year. Players and court staff fainted, water bottles melted and a participant even warned someone might die after temperatures hit 43C.

The Open has since introduced new protocols that require the match referee to consider suspending play if the ambient temperature reaches 40C.

But the Climate Institute warned that the heat policies of other sports were patchy, with a recent AFL match taking place in 38C heat and last year’s Tour Down Under having no heat stipulations, even though cycling races in certain states are normally halted in extremely high temperatures.

“Heat policies are a bit confused and ambiguous between state and national levels,” said John Connor, chief executive of the Climate Institute. ……………

elongated droughts in parts of Australia, coupled with extreme rainfall, will degrade community sporting grounds and even affect large stadiums, such as the Suncorp stadium in Brisbane, which was covered in 1.5m of water during the 2011 Queensland floods.

Some of the most dramatic changes could hit those who enjoy winter sports, with the CSIRO report warning of “very substantial decreases in snowfall, increase in melt and thus reduced snow cover”…….http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jan/30/grassroots-sports-at-risk-from-heatwaves-due-to-climate-change-report-warns

January 31, 2015 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, climate change - global warming