Sport and Climate Impacts: How much heat can sport handle?

The majority of Australians engage in sporting activities ranging from bush walking to team competition. Almost two-thirds of Australian children participate in organised sport outside school. More than 7.5 million Australians attend a sporting event each year. The sports industry contributes $12.5 billion to the economy. But sport can’t go on as it has. Global warming is likened to extreme weather on steroids. For Australia, already a country of extremes, that is bad news. Climate change is making heatwaves more frequent and intense, increasing high and low rainfall extremes and worsening droughts, floods, and bushfires. Average temperatures in Australia have warmed by about 0.9°C since 1910. Seven of the years since 2002 have been the hottest on record. This report finds that most sports are struggling to cope, especially at the local level. Heat policies are often ambiguous and vary at state, national and international level, with ambiguity about application. Duty of care thresholds vary within and across sports from 32°C to 41°C.