Are your sports pitches too dry to play on?

This summer has officially been the hottest since records began, and the impact has been felt all over the country, and the world.

Food has been harder to grow, hosepipe bans were put in place, and in some places, sport has had to be put on pause.

That's because football, rugby, and cricket pitches have suffered dried out, which has left them hard and dangerous to play on.

It's meant some autumn football and rugby leagues haven't been able to start on time.

Has this happened at the sports club you go to? Have you had to delay or cancel any matches? Let us know in the comments.

On 10 August, almost two thirds of England and the whole of Wales was declared to be in drought.

The rest of England had 'prolonged dry weather' while Scotland and Northern Ireland experienced drier weather than usual.

Drought is usually used to describe a long period of dry weather which has an impact on people, nature and the environment.

And the impact on pitches is that all the moisture in the soil has evaporated, leaving them incredibly hard to play on, even after places have has some rain.

Rugby in England and Wales has seen a lot of disruption as a result of the situation.

In England the start of the community rugby season has been delayed by the organisation that runs it, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) until 21 September.

Age Grade Rugby, which runs leagues for kids up to the age 18, has also received guidance to either postpone until the week beginning 21 September, or carry out thorough risk assessments to ensure it's safe to play.

An RFU spokesperson told BBC Newsround: "Hard grounds will put extra strain on joints with high running & jumping activity leading to greater risk of injury, as well as creating a higher risk of injury for players making contact with the ground."

Saltash Rugby Club in the South West of England is one club that's been affected.

The chair, Noel Hill, told BBC Newsround: "We normally have a series of games in September for the kids which have all either had to be cancelled or made into a game of touch rugby... so no contact."

The kids at the club have felt "disappointed" at the changes Noel said, particularly ones who are learning how to tackle with full contact for the first time.

But things seem to be getting better.

Noel said they've had a fair amount of rain in recent days, and the pitches have gone from "looking like dry deserts to being lush green", so he says he's confident things will be back to normal soon.

And it's a similar picture in Wales - the Welsh Rugby Union issued advice in August to be cautious about training and matches in the dry conditions.

Updated guidance later in the month said matches were OK to go ahead but only if both sides and the ref agree it is safe.

A further update will be coming on 13 September, according to their website.

England Football says in their dry pitch guidance that "there is no blanket suspension of football on dry grass" but clubs and leagues should carry out regular assessments and leave plenty of time to give notice of any matches that may need to be postponed.

They also say match officials should arrive early to check pitches ahead of any fixtures.

But some junior football leagues have made the decision to delay the start of the season.

Dorset County FA postponed the start of its Mini-Soccer League season because "prolonged dry weather has left pitches unsuitable for play" it said on their website.

"The decision affects children playing from Under-7 through to Under-10 across the county. The competition provides weekly football for more than 250 teams and thousands of young players," it added.

Pre season friendlies had already been cancelled, and they've said they will review the matter weekly in the meantime, in case there's any chance games can start sooner.

If your sports clubs or leagues have been affected by the hot weather, or if your pitch at school is suffering too, let us know in the comments.