James Cook University researchers say increasing heat is putting competitors, staff and the public at risk at big sporting events such as the Brisbane Olympic Games, and could see health systems being overwhelmed. Hannah Mason is a lecturer at JCU's College of Public Health, Medical & Veterinary Sciences. She was the lead author of a study that analyzed research on the impact of heat on people at mass sporting events.
The research is published in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport . "As temperatures increase across the globe due to climate change , human exposure to extreme heat becomes more of a public health challenge. Our objective was to explore the impact of heat on health and the wider health system and discuss implications for outdoor mass-gathering sporting events in Australia," said Ms.
Mason. She said the team found that incidences of heat-related illness had a direct relationship with increasing environmental heat, with those participating in endurance sports such as running and cycling, and athletes with multiple medical conditions and abilities, at higher risk. "Participants and spectators experienced elevated risks in events with higher wet bulb globe temperature—a measure of environmental heat as it affects humans—leading to race cancellations, mass casualty incidents and medical tent utilization," said Ms.
Mason. She said the impacts extended beyond the events to include emergency transfers due to heat illness. "A significant heat event, combined.