By Mark McKinney
The World Rugby organizers reported that the weekend match between England and France will be postponed until further notice as dangers about a large typhoon approaching the shores of Japan become a serious issue.
It has not been disclosed whether or not the game will still take place at the designated time just excluding the spectators, or if it will be postponed until the typhoon has passed the island and the weather is a bit more manageable.
Regardless though, both English and French fans were disappointed to find out that the appointment they made with their friends on the weekend to watch the game has been spoiled by predictions of heavy rain and winds.
But heavy rain and winds are unlikely to cause serious health issues right? It’s simply an inconvenience for both spectators and athletes. It could’ve been easily beaten with a closed-off stadium, but unfortunately, there’s no choice for it right now.
Well, it turns out that there will be an even more serious weather issue in Summer when Japan will be hosting the Summer Olympics of 2020.
We all remember the reports from Japan about people dying from heat stroke or too much humidity, dehydration and etc, right? Well, 2020 is predicted to be just as terrible in terms of heat if not even more terrible.
Health hazard and red flags
Numerous medical experts from Japan have warned that if relevant measures are not taken during the Olympics, both spectators, as well as the athletes and stadium staff, will have to face serious hazardous situations.
Things such as heat stroke and overheating could cause multiple people to pass out then and there unless good shading and cool-down methods are provided.
Imagine a situation where the temperature reaches 41.1 degrees celsius, and the whole land is surrounded by an ocean as well as a sea. This causes serious humidity issues on the island to a point where people even find it hard to breathe. Pair that up with the densely packed streets of Tokyo and overpopulation, and you get yourself a seriously hazardous situation.
But we’re not talking about doing sports in the middle of Shibuya station, right? We’re talking about a large open-air stadium that is directly exposed to the heat, what could be the issues?
Coaches and athletes prepare
After the first warnings were released by Japanese medical experts, coaches all over the world started to prepare their athletes not only for competing in the activities, but also to cope with the heat as much as possible.
The warnings were so severe that even the top Norwegian betting websites, as well as their Swedish and Finnish counterparts, decided that their athletes would have serious issues coping with the heat, and thus will be decreasing the odds of their teams winning in any of the activities.
It sure speaks volumes about the issue when people who have decades of experience in sports believe that the weather will affect their players.
Luckily, though, the Nordic countries are an exception in this case as the people living in these countries are naturally unprepared for high temperatures.
Are there any measures being taken?
The organizers of the Olympics alongside the Olympics Committee themselves are currently taking measures to somehow find the best way to cool down the stadium. The idea of using fake snow has also surfaced within the teams, and they’ve already tested it.
Although it does accomplish the mission and lowers the temperature of a specific location, it melts very fast and thus creates a very moist and unpleasant situation for the spectators, especially if they’re the ones sprayed by the snow.
Other measures are cold water sprinklers that will be installed on seats which spectators could use on their own will.
But other than that, no real solution has been found quite yet.
How to prepare if you’re a spectator
The real danger of the Japanese heat is directed more towards the spectators rather than the athletes. The athletes will spend only a couple of minutes under the sun when they’re performing, the rest they can sit out in a nicely shaded area with a bunch of water and cooling methods.
The spectators, however, wanting to watch all athletes perform, could have to spend hours in the scorching sun, thus exposing themselves to not only sunburns but also heat strokes and dehydration.
The best way to prevent any of these health issues is to bring lots and lots of cold water that you can drink or re-stock the sprinklers with.
The other method is to wear thin but full covering clothes to avoid any sunburns. Also, don’t forget to protect your head from the sun as well, that’s the most important part.
As for the sun exposure, there’s really nothing you can do unless the staff finds a way to provide a decently shaded location within the stadium. It may get really crowded at times, but judging by the fact that it’s Japan, people should allow each other to take turns.
Overall, there are multiple ways you can protect yourself from the heat, but you may not have to think of anything if the organizers find a good solution.