By: Max Xu

Cricket is the world’s second most popular sport. It is also the sport most affected by climate change.

Cricket has 2-3 billion fans around the world and is most popular in places like India and the West Indies. These locations are not only home to many cricket fans, but also to very bad weather conditions. They are hit the hardest by weather conditions created by climate change, such as droughts, extreme heat, floods, and more.

Another reason why Cricket is affected so much is because matches usually last around 8 hours a day and can last for multiple days in a row. This means that players must play in these extreme weather conditions for extended periods of time.

This year, Britain experienced its hottest day ever and the Indian Subcontinent went through its hottest spring. In June, the West Indies cricket team traveled to Pakistan to play in 111-degree weather.

“It honestly felt like you were opening an oven,” said Akeal Hosein, one of the players.

However, the players aren’t the only ones out in the heat. In India, cricket is so popular that tens of thousands of fans showed up for a match in New Delhi in June, even when there were temperatures around the 110-degree range.

“It feels great. Who cares about the heat?” said Saksham Mehndiratta, one of the spectators in New Delhi.

Mehndiratta’s father, Naresh, agrees, saying, “this chills me down.”

Many people still think the heat is a problem and think that something needs to be done.

“Action needs to be taken for us to manage this situation,” says Daren Ganga, a commentator and former West Indies captain, “because I think we’ve gone beyond the tipping point in some areas. We still have the opportunity to pull things back in other areas.”

Source Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/04/sports/cricket/cricket-climate-change-sustainable.html