With rising levels of climate change, Australia has been one of the worst-affected nations in the world. And just like in previous years, Melbourne has been experiencing severe heatwaves over the last few days, affecting even the Australian Open. Except this time, the heat has brought some additional side effects.

Melbourne witnessed its air quality downgrade rapidly while Casper Rudd took on Marin Cilic at Margaret Court Arena. As journalist Ben Rothenberg posted on X, “The roof over Margaret Court Arena has closed during this third set of Ruud-Cilic due to “smoke in the air,” the Australian Open says.“

It also meant that play was suspended for a brief period of time. But soon after the roof was closed, the question that arose was what might have caused the intense smoke.

Well, Victoria state’s emergency department confirmed the smoke was caused by a bushfire at the Carlisle River, even though the location was 200 kilometers away from Melbourne. Yet, such a deep smoke resulting from the bushfire only makes it evident how dangerous the fire has become. 

“You will see or smell smoke across parts of these areas. Smoke is a result of a bushfire at Carlisle River. A wind change will cause the smoke to drift over parts of Metropolitan Melbourne. Do not call Triple Zero (000) unless you see a fire or a defined column of smoke. There is no immediate threat to the community and no action is required,” read the warning from Victoria State. 

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The weather in Australia is currently burning up and even Ben Shelton recently gave his unfiltered take on the scorching conditions in Melbourne.

Ben Shelton details uncomfortable Australian Open conditions due to extreme heat

Ben Shelton is in some fine form at the moment. Facing off against Valentin Vacherot, Shelton won 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(5), yet to drop a set in the tournament so far. Following his victory, the American was asked what changes he had made in his game to adjust to the extreme conditions.

The 23-year-old pointed out that he has been very careful with his diet and has been keeping it extremely light. He also said he’d been drinking a lot of water to combat the heat. 

Speaking about the conditions, Shelton stated, “It’s something that I’m used to, but it’s not comfortable for anybody. It’s a very uncomfortable feeling playing out there in those temperatures. And like you said, I ended up playing indoors, but there are a lot of things you have to factor in. For me, usually I’d probably go up a few pounds in tension. I didn’t today…”

This year, the Australian Open organizers have been kept on their toes by the heatwave. Initially, they shifted the start time to 10:30 am to combat the afternoon temperatures.

Matches were also shifted to the roofed courts like Margaret Court Arena. Yet, despite all of the changes, the soaring temperatures resulted in eventually suspending the games on outside courts. Thus, as the tournament rolls on, the biggest challenge the organizers will have to overcome is how to keep the athletes safe from the scorching heat.