PCLM-D-26-00102

Global Climate Risks for Outdoor Sports Under CMIP6 Scenarios: A Multi-Indicator Assessment Based on WBGT, Heat Index, Heavy Rainfall, and Heatwaves

PLOS Climate

Dear Dr. Defrance,

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Teodoro Georgiadis

Academic Editor

PLOS Climate

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Comment from Editorial Office   :

Please note that the Academic Editor has provided comments to you as Reviewer #3.

Additional Editor Comments (if provided)   :

Even one of the reiviewers suggested 'accept' I invite the authors to take into account the suggestion for minor changes to fully improve their manuscript.

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Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #1:    The article is well written and well structured.

I suggest that the authors add a paragraph discussing the sporting activities that can be undertaken, even individually, at different times of the day, to link this to the PBL and explore the possible impacts of pollution, as during the early hours of the morning and in the evening, the PBL collapses, and this collapse leads to a higher concentration of pollutants.

Reviewer #2:    This study uses the NASA NEX-GDDP-CMIP6 dataset (0.25°) to demonstrate that outdoor sports are entering a regime of permanent climate stress. The main innovation lies in the explicit calculation of WBGT using the Liljegren method and in the development of the Sport Climate Risk Index (SCRI), providing an operational and robust metric for international sports federations and urban planning. The results show that the “time-shifting” strategy (playing earlier or later in the day) is only a temporary solution and is likely to fail under more severe warming scenarios. It is emphasized that the Heat Index (HI) tends to overestimate thermal stress in hot and humid tropical climates. The figures are clear, and the text is well written.

Recommendations:

1. Include in the Introduction that widely used indicators, such as the HI, have known limitations in humid tropical regions.

2. Add a technical note explicitly acknowledging the bias of the HI in equatorial humid environments, and explain that, in these regions, the HI should be interpreted as a conservative upper limit of thermal stress, while WBGT represents the most robust metric for high-performance sports.

3. Suggest or include a cross-validation with meteorological station data in at least two climate hotspots (for example, Southeast Asia and Brazil).

4. Provide a more detailed justification for the adoption of equal weights (0.25) among the indicators or present a sensitivity analysis, demonstrating that the use of equal weights represents a conservative and ethically appropriate approach in the absence of medical-sports consensus.

5. Include a table comparing the projected number of days with high WBGT values and the current criteria for suspension or adjustment of competitions.

The manuscript presents an original, timely, and methodologically robust contribution, with consistent use of CMIP6 data and an innovative approach aimed at operationalizing climate risk in sports. The strongest aspect of the article is the development and application of WBGT and SCRI as objective decision-making tools, which remain highly relevant even while acknowledging that the Heat Index overestimates risk under tropical humid heat conditions.

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Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: No

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Global Climate Risks for Outdoor Sports Under CMIP6 Scenarios: A Multi-Indicator Assessment Based on WBGT, Heat Index, Heavy Rainfall, and Heatwaves

PCLM-D-26-00102R1

Dear Dr Defrance,

We are pleased to inform you that your manuscript 'Global Climate Risks for Outdoor Sports Under CMIP6 Scenarios: A Multi-Indicator Assessment Based on WBGT, Heat Index, Heavy Rainfall, and Heatwaves' has been provisionally accepted for publication in PLOS Climate.

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Thank you again for supporting Open Access publishing; we are looking forward to publishing your work in PLOS Climate.

Best regards,

Teodoro Georgiadis

Academic Editor

PLOS Climate

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Additional Editor Comments (if provided):

The authors followed all the Journal Requirements (4 requirements) and now is worthy of publication.

Reviewer Comments (if any, and for reference):