From heatwaves in the UK to the tragic death of an amateur cricketer in Adelaide, extreme heat is impacting cricket worldwide, from the grassroots to the highest levels.
In the 2025 Indian Premier League, elite cricketers played half their matches in conditions classified as “Extreme Caution” and “Danger” on the Heat Index — a measure combining air temperature and humidity to assess heat-related risk.
Over a third of IPL’s 2025 matches were under "Extreme Caution" conditions, where heat exhaustion becomes a serious threat.
These findings are part of Hit for Six: the danger zone, a new report from FrontRunners and the British Association for Sustainability in Sport (BASIS), Climate Central, and The Next Test.
The research focussed on 65 IPL matches in 2025, which were assessed with expert input from Mike Tipton, Professor of Human & Applied Physiology at the Extreme Environments Laboratory, School of Sport, Health & Exercise Science at the University of Portsmouth.
The report charts a sharp rise in hazardous heat days at almost every major cricket stadium in India since 1970.
In Mumbai, the number of these high-risk heat days has jumped by 125%, while the city of Thiruvananthapuram recorded more than 100 hazardous heat days in 2024 alone. The “hazardous heat day” classification is given when temperatures exceed safe limits for human health, dramatically increasing the risk of heat-related illness. The pattern extends beyond India, with cricketing nations including Pakistan, Australia, South Africa and even the UK seeing a significant surge in extreme heat days.
“We’re witnessing a clear trend towards more frequent and more intense heat conditions for key cricketing nations. Players are now being asked to perform in environments that are not just uncomfortable, but potentially dangerous, with rising temperatures and humidity levels pushing human physiology toward its upper limits. This isn’t just about performance — it’s increasingly a question of player safety.”
– Mike Tipton, Professor of Human & Applied Physiology at the Extreme Environments Laboratory, University of Portsmouth
The report includes testimony from some of the biggest names in the game, and comes as extreme temperatures dominate global headlines and disrupt elite sport – from Wimbledon recording its hottest-ever opening day, to Club World Cup matches played in punishing heat across the United States.
2025 is set to be in the top 3 warmest years on record, says the UN’s WMO weather agency, a phenomenon that scientists say is overwhelmingly due to the burning of three fossil fuels: coal, gas and oil.
As the report explains, no major cricketing nation is unaffected by our changing climate. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the Caribbean and the UK are all facing a variety of climate extremes that are impacting the professional and grassroots game. Cricket stars and cricketers of all generations tell Hit for Six: the danger zone of the impacts to the game they love.
Download the report here.
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