Extreme temperatures brought the 2014 Australian Open to grinding halt in Melbourne earlier this month, as temperatures toppped 43C and professional athletes from around the world felt the brunt of what the punishing Australian clilmate has to offer.

17 Time Grand Slam Champion Serena Williams, who trains regularly in the Florida heat, said she kept waking up in the middle of the night feeling paranoid. “I just wanted to stay hydrated” Williams said. “The last thing I want to do is to cramp i this weather. It can happen so easy”.

Meanwhile, Canadian Frank Dancevic collapsed on court in his second set against Benoit Paire, immediately after hallucinating that he saw Charlie Brown’s pet beagle Snoopy! “I was dizzy from the middle of the first set and then I saw Snoopy and I thought, ‘Wow Snoopy, that’s weird'”.

The Extreme Heat Policy was enacted on the 4th day of action (Thursday), but not before American Maria Varvara Lepchecnko received medical treatment during her match against the Romanian Simona Halep, lying on her back as trainers rubbed ice over her body.

As part of the policy officials suspended all matches on outdoor courts until the evening and required that retractable roofs on indoor courts be closed. The decision was welcomed by the players who complained that the tournament should have been halted much earlier.

“On Tuesday, I don’t know what they didn’t stop matches. It was an oven. An oven! It was burning. Why today and not Tuesday?” complained an outraged Alize Cornet of France on Thursday.

These extreme Australian conditions, which many of the players complained to were both inhumane and dangerous to play under, were just a taste of what many Australian workers, especially those working in regional areas of the Northern Territory, WA and QLD have to deal with on a daily, and often year round basis. Though acclimatised Aussie workers may fare much better than athletes who have just flown in from cooler climes.

Performing labour intensive work in extreme temperatures puts a lot of pressure on the human bodies that must work on overdrive to maintain optimal core temperature. If you work outdoors and in the heat on a regular basis it is imperative that you follow extreme heat protocols and procedures to ensure your health and safety on site. For assistance compiling and implementing a heat stress management plan on your work site, contact THORZT today.