Tokyo is so hot that Olympic beach volleyball players had to stop practicing because the sand was burning their feet

• Conditions in Tokyo 2020 are so hot that beach volleyball players couldn't stand on the sand.
• The incident is the first to illustrate growing fears about the heat and humidity in Tokyo during the Games.
• Tokyo's could be the hottest games on record, with average temperatures usually around 92 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Conditions in Tokyo are so hot that some Olympic beach volleyball players had to stop practicing because the sand was too painful to stand on, the Times of London reports.

As the players sheltered in the shade, staff members hosed the Shiokaze Park surface down with water before the players could resume.

It is a warning sign for athletes arriving in Tokyo, who are expected to be subjected to the hottest Olympics on record as the Japanese capital exits its rainy season and enters a hot, humid summer.

Concerns have been raised since the city was first awarded the games in 2013, and as athletes begin to arrive for the tournament which begins on Friday, they are being confronted with high heat and humidity.

On Tuesday, Tokyo hit a high of around 93 degrees Fahrenheit (34 degrees Celsius), while humidity throughout the Games is expected to be upwards of 70%.

Anticipation of problems with the heat saw the International Olympic Committee persuade the organizers to move the marathon and race walking events 500 miles north of Tokyo to the cooler Sapporo, but those who remain in Tokyo will face stifling temperatures and oppressive humidity.

When Tokyo last hosted the games in 1964, the tournament was moved to October to combat the heat but The New York Times reports that was not considered for the 2020 edition.

It said the reason behind the traditional July and August staging was partly to please US broadcasters, which have schedules dominated by the end of the Major League Baseball season and the start of the National Football League season at that time of the year.

The adverse conditions in Tokyo have prompted the city's environment agency to recommend residents not partake in regular or heavy exercise.

The ministry measures a wet bulb globe temperature which combines temperature, humidity, wind and solar radiation and found on Tuesday it stood at 89.2 degrees Fahrenheit (31.8 degrees Celsius,) which equates to a heat index of around 131 degrees Fahrenheit (55 degrees Celsius).

Anything over 88 degrees Fahrenheit (31 degrees Celsius) and the ministry recommends sporting activity should be stopped.

The hottest games in Olympic history came in 1984 in Los Angeles but Tokyo is forecast to surpass that.

The Guardian reports that in a 20-year average of Tokyo's temperature at this time of year, the average temperature was 92.7 degrees Fahrenheit (33.7 degrees Celsius) with a high of 100.6 degrees Fahrenheit (38.1 degrees Celsius).