How the Australian Open is acing its heat policy

When striving to make informed decisions, acquiring a comprehensive set of information becomes essential. A full assessment of human heat balance involves considering all the factors listed above, but the next challenge lies in transforming this data into actionable insights.

If Rafael Nadal wants to understand the risks of playing his match scheduled for 1pm that afternoon, presenting him with a list of environmental stressors and biophysical intricacies might only add confusion.

To bridge this gap between data and decision-making, researchers employ climatic stress indices. These indices aim to distil the complex interplay of temperature, humidity and other factors into a single, comprehensible number. Notable examples of this include the Wet-Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT), Heat Index (HI), and Predicted Heat Strain (PHS) models, each offering varying levels of complexity and ease…