[Anchor]

Professional baseball is also on high alert amid record-breaking heatwaves. The KBO decided today (August 1) to cancel games due to extreme heat for the first time in two years. Going forward, the start time of games can be delayed by up to one hour depending on the weather.

Next is reporter Bae Jeonghun.

[Reporter]

When we captured Busan Sajik Baseball Stadium, where yesterday's game between the Lotte Giants and Samsung Lions was held, with a thermal imaging camera, the average temperature in the stands was 61.6°C (143°F).

The temperature of the artificial turf in front of the dugout where players warm up reached an average of 71°C (160°F).

Players complained of dehydration and dizziness during the game, and many fans suffered due to the heat.

[Koo Ja-wook / Samsung Outfielder (Yesterday): It seemed like the hottest day I've ever played baseball, and it was a very tough game because my sweat wouldn't dry throughout the match, but today here (than Daegu) was the hottest. It felt like the hottest day of my life, and I didn't want to come outside.]

In the end, the KBO announced that it decided to cancel the games scheduled to be held in Busan and Changwon today due to the extreme heat.

According to KBO League regulations, games can be canceled when daily high temperatures of 35°C (95°F) or higher are expected to persist for two or more consecutive days. This was because the forecast predicted that today's high temperatures in Busan and Changwon would exceed 40°C (104°F), and high temperatures of 37°C (99°F) or more would continue even at 6:00 PM, the scheduled start time of the games.

In fact, the situation was even more severe than yesterday, with the temperature of the artificial turf area on the field at Sajik Stadium reaching an average of 75.7°C (168°F) today.

This is the first time professional baseball games have been canceled due to extreme heat since four games were canceled two years ago. With the heatwave expected to continue into next week, the possibility of additional game cancellations is high.

The KBO also unveiled countermeasures to respond to the heatwave, allowing games held at outdoor stadiums to delay their start times by up to one hour from the scheduled time.

The Korea Professional Football League (KLeague) has also decided to lower ground temperatures by spraying water across the entire pitch before the match and during halftime, and to actively utilize cooling breaks—a rest system introduced in 2018 to cope with extreme heat—for up to three minutes each in the first and second halves.

(Video Editing: Park Gi-deok, Design: Seo Hyun-jung, Footage Courtesy of: Lotte Giants)