Four horse racing meetings in the UK have been abandoned, a World Cup public screening in Madrid has been cancelled, and Wimbledon officials are monitoring temperatures as a severe heatwave sweeps across Europe.
Horse Racing Cancellations Due to Red Warning
Wednesday's scheduled fixtures at Kempton, Salisbury, Worcester and Ffos Las have been called off entirely. The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) enforced its hot weather policy after the Met Office upgraded its warning to a rare red alert for central and southern England and Wales. The alert warns of potential risk to life, with temperatures forecast to reach 38°C from 9am Wednesday to 9pm Thursday.
Trainers are prohibited from moving horses from or through areas under red alerts. Before the upgrade, organisers had brought the Worcester jumps meeting forward to a 10.30am start, but the worsening forecast made cancellation unavoidable.
Madrid World Cup Screening Scrapped
In Spain, a public screening of Spain's World Cup match against Saudi Arabia, scheduled for a 6pm kick-off, was cancelled by authorities. Madrid is experiencing temperatures of 40°C due to a mass of hot air from North Africa. The city council and Spanish football federation cited safety concerns for attendees, staff, and support services.
Wimbledon Heat Rule in Effect
Wimbledon's heat rule activates when the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) reading reaches 30.1°C or higher. Officials take readings three times daily: 30 minutes before play, at 2pm, and at 5pm. Once the threshold is crossed, players can request a 10-minute cooling break during singles matches; only one player needs to ask for it to be implemented for both competitors.
