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Story Spark: Heat & Sports
From the iconic red clay of Roland Garros to the grassy pitches of the World Cup (and even your kid’s youth baseball game), many of this year’s biggest (and smallest) sporting events are being affected by extreme heat driven by climate change.
Rising temperatures have been a perennial concern for those competing in summer sports, as players struggle with both hot weather and outdated, inadequate heat policies. During a match in Shanghai last summer, a pro tennis player summed up these growing frustrations succinctly: “Do you want a player to die on court?”
He has a point. Despite killing more people in the US and worldwide than any other weather disaster, extreme heat is often overlooked. This lack of concern and action by officials extends also to fans, with FIFA banning fans from taking reusable water bottles into World Cup stadiums (they’ve since reversed the decision after fierce backlash).
Better heat adaptation measures not only need to be implemented at the pro level, but for youth sports as well. Children are developmentally more susceptible to heat, and their activity levels make them even more vulnerable. According to the CDC, more than 9,000 high school athletes receive treatment for heat-related illnesses each year in the US. Audiences need to know how climate change is making playing (and watching) sports more difficult. In addition to exploring how heat is increasing in different stadiums and communities, highlight what sports organizations are doing — or can’t do — to keep their athletes and fans safe.
– David Dickson, CCNow
Expert Tips
This edition’s tips come to you from Timothy Kellison, Ph.D., an associate professor of sport management at Florida State University and editor of Sport Stadiums and Environmental Justice. His research focuses on sport ecology, the study of the bidirectional relationship between sport and the environment.
Heat risk starts with the stadium, and most facilities don’t know their risk level. In a recent climate-risk study my colleagues and I conducted of elite sport venues, the majority faced moderate-to-high heat risk — and these are facilities in a global sport with enormous resources. Your typical high school stadium or youth soccer complex almost certainly hasn’t assessed its exposure. Ask venue operators a simple question: Have you ever evaluated your heat risk? The answer is usually no, and that gap can put a lot of people at risk.
Athletes attract important attention, but they’re only part of the story. The risk of heat stress to players is serious and well-documented. But at the highest levels of sport, athletes often have dedicated medical staff, cooling breaks, and ice tubs. The same hot afternoon also bears down on officials, event-day staff, and fans sitting out in the sun — and there aren’t many monitoring conditions on their behalf. Ask who at the venue is responsible for those groups.
Look at policies, not just temperatures. Many states and governing bodies have adopted heat standards like wet-bulb globe temperature thresholds, preseason acclimatization periods, and on-site cooling equipment. But whether your local schools and leagues actually follow them is another matter.
Give credit where it’s due, but don’t just publish the press release. Sport organizations that reschedule events, redesign venues, or adopt worker heat protocols are doing what’s right and necessary, and that deserves coverage. Still, my research on stadium proposals finds that sustainability features often function as appeals to city officials and taxpayers rather than evidence of operational change. When a team announces a heat or climate initiative, find out what has materially changed before writing it up.
Stories We Like
- CBC News breaks down how a warming planet is changing sports for athletes across the world — from Olympic tennis, rowing, and pro rugby.
- Mother Jones examines how preseason football practices turned deadly in Kansas, Mississippi, and Nebraska and spotlights that it’s not just excessive heat putting young players at risk — it’s also bad coaching.
- As this year’s World Cup gets underway, Ben Tracy, on assignment for Climate Central, highlights researchers who are studying the impact of heat stress on performance and safety, as outdoor sports face a hotter, more brutal future.
- In Jacobabad, Pakistan, one of the hottest places on Earth, extreme heat disrupts the city’s only women’s sports club, Context News reports.
- What’s watching a match without a beer (or two?). However, as the Associated Press explores, the combination of alcohol and worsening heat create a riskier mix for fans watching this summer’s World Cup.
Resources
- Head to Climate Central’s 2026 World Cup hub to explore the data and odds of climate change–influenced heat at every match played this summer.
- Also examine another Climate Central report, “More Extremely Hot Days for School Sports,” to better understand the heightened risks from extreme heat for student athletes who engage in outdoor sports in your community.
- Check out the Korey Stringer Institute’s evaluation of US high school sports safety policies to see how well your state is protecting young athletes.
- Watch CCNow’s recent Spanish-language webinar for tips and story ideas to cover how extreme heat will play a role in upcoming World Cup matches.
Experts
- Douglas Casa, chief executive officer, Korey Stringer Institute
- Autumn Burton, senior associate of climate, health, and environment, Federation of American Scientists
- Mike Tipton, professor of human and applied physiology, University of Portsmouth
- Ecoathletes, an organization that mobilizes athletes, academics, climate scientists, and sports-focused entrepreneurs to take action on climate change, can connect journalists with athletes.
Before We Go…
The next Locally Sourced will explore heat & worker safety. As climate change drives longer, more intense heatwaves, we’ll examine how these rising temperatures pose a wide range of risks to those working outside. Have you reported on this climate impact and possible solutions? Send them to us at local[at]coveringclimatenow[dot]org. We’d love to consider them for the next edition of Locally Sourced and our media trainings and social platforms.
CCNow Office Hours. Are you a journalist who needs help finding the local angle to a climate story? Sign up for office hours with CCNow’s David Dickson for editorial and climate support.
Want more story ideas? Check out the Locally Sourced archive for more topics to explore, including AI data centers, coastal flooding, air transportation, and more.
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