During the first two days (starting from Monday) of the Australian Open in Melbourne, the players and the audience will have to endure intense heat.
Hot and breezy conditions will be experienced on Tuesday. The temperature is expected to soar around 37°C. This temperature is significantly higher than the normal of mid-twenties for this time of the year. However, in the absence of high humidity and breezy conditions things will not be as bad as perceived.
Fans and players will have to take precautions by taking a lot of fluids and wearing light colored clothes in order to protect themselves from exhaustion and heat stroke.
Melbourne Park, the venue of the Australian Open has three courts which are equipped with retractable roofs. Rest of the courts offer no protection from the heat. The heat has already affected this year’s tournament. According to Australian Open official website, day one of the men’s qualifying round was suspended last Wednesday. According to local met office, the temperature recorded at Melbourne Park was around 42°C.
Relief from the heat will come by this midweek. This will be due to a weather system which will affect from Tuesday night into Wednesday. This weather system will cause showers and possibly a thunderstorm. This could cause delays in the matches. Temperatures will come down to normal levels. The showers are expected to persist till Thursday. The heat is not likely to return until late this week or the coming weekend.
Image credit: theaustralian.com.au
