After a heat break, play can resume at the Australian Open

After a three-hour delay, after matches were halted because of extreme heat, play was scheduled to resume at the Australian Open on Tuesday.

The tournament’s five-part heat stress scale was reached five after players were sweltering in temperatures of 36 Celsius (96.8 Fahrenheit).

The scale measures four climate factors — radiant heat (strength of the sun), air temperature in the shade, relative humidity and wind speed.

The lowest reading is 1 and the highest is 5. At that point, play is stopped and the roofs on the three main stadiums, Rod Laver Arena Margaret Court Arena and John Cain Arena, are closed.

Organisers stated that the conditions were improving and that play would resume at 5.30pm (0600 GMT).

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