A water cannon sprays the stands during a professional baseball game between the Kiwoom Heroes and the LG Twins at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on July 29. Yonhap News
A record-breaking heat wave has forced the cancellation of two Korean professional baseball games scheduled for 6 p.m. on the 1st: the Samsung Lions-Lotte Giants game in Busan and the Kia Tigers-NC Dinos game in Changwon.
The KBO office said it decided to cancel the games because a severe heat wave warning had been in effect for the Busan and Changwon areas since the previous day, and forecasts indicated temperatures would remain above 37 degrees at the scheduled start time.
The daytime high temperatures in Busan and Changwon reached around 39 degrees that day.
Under KBO league regulations, a KBO game operations committee member can cancel a game at their own discretion if a weather advisory at the warning level or higher — including for heat waves, strong winds, fog, fine dust, or yellow dust — is issued as of the game’s start time.
A heat wave advisory is issued when the daily high temperature is expected to remain at 33 degrees or higher for two or more days, while a warning is issued when the daily high temperature is expected to remain at 35 degrees or higher for two or more days.
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) decided to operate professional baseball games flexibly starting from that day.
Amid the record heat wave, the KBO said it would decide whether to proceed with games by prioritizing the safety of spectators and players.
Accordingly, games at all stadiums except Seoul’s Gocheok Sky Dome, the country’s only domed stadium, can be delayed by up to one hour from their scheduled start times.
In areas where a severe heat wave warning has been issued, the KBO will actively consider cancellations, including delayed starts, in consideration of safety.
Before a game starts, a KBO game operations committee member decides on cancellation after checking with the Korea Meteorological Administration, while after a game begins, an umpire committee member makes the decision.
The severe heat wave warning, newly established by the Korea Meteorological Administration this year, is issued in areas where the maximum perceived temperature has remained at 35 degrees or higher for two or more days and either reaches 38 degrees or higher, or when the maximum temperature reaches 39 degrees or higher.
Heat wave advisories are currently in effect across all areas of Busan, Ulsan, and South Gyeongsang Province, and Changwon in particular has been under a severe heat wave warning since July 30.