THE alarm bells are getting louder. Even the country’s biggest sporting product is facing the impact of climate change. Findings from Hit for Six: The Danger Zone, a report compiled by climate experts, show that the Pakistan Super League — the financial driver for the Pakistan Cricket Board — will have to adapt for its future editions. The last edition, pushed to almost the end of May due to the inability to find a suitable window, as Pakistan hosted the Champions Trophy earlier this year and then the cross-border skirmishes with India, saw half its matches played in conditions detrimental to players’ health, according to the Heat Index. Although PSL matches did not fall into the ‘danger’ category of the index, according to the report, rising global heat will make conditions riskier for players and spectators alike if the country’s glitzy T20 extravaganza is held at the same time of the year in the future. Next year’s edition of the PSL is likely to run in the same summer months as the league grapples to find a suitable window in a packed calendar. Citing the March 2022 heatwave, the report also warns that returning to the February-March window would become challenging. Not only are temperatures a cause for concern, the changing climate patterns mean winter rains arrive late. Pakistan witnessed several matches of the Champions Trophy — which ended the country’s 29-year wait to host an international cricket tournament — washed out. Add to this picture the winter smog that engulfs much of the country’s central regions, and there is a narrow window for PSL to work with.

While cricket is the sport most affected by climate change due to the health risks associated with being under the sun for long hours, other sports will be affected too. Rising heat will make high-intensity sports such as hockey and football almost unplayable. At the other end, ice hockey, which has a great following in the northern reaches of the country, is suffering on account of the thinning ice cover on the frozen lakes that it is played on. Other indigenous sports that are played outdoors will suffer as well. It is time to act quickly because climate change is real. The impact of climate change on sports should be a pressing concern for the government and the sports authorities. Efforts should be made to mitigate its effects, and it is imperative these are made soon.

Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2025