The test, conducted on a road where the Olympic race-walking events will be held in Japan's capital, reportedly showed that spraying water on the road surface could keep it at around five degrees celsius cooler than the surrounding air.

Sprinklers normally used for farming were trialled at 4am and 7am this morning, local time.

At 4am, some areas where water was sprayed were found to be five degrees cooler than the air temperature, while once the air temperature exceeded 30 degrees, the lowest surface temperature recorded where water was sprayed was 27.

In comparison, where no water was used, the surface temperature exceeded 30 degrees.

It was reportedly pointed out by one Tokyo official, however, that the experiment was conducted during cloudy weather conditions.

Therefore it is not known what effect such a system would have in the sun.

The potential heat during the Olympics has become a huge concern for Tokyo this summer, as a heatwave has seen temperatures soar as high as 41.1 degrees.

So far more than 130 people have died and 71,000 others have been admitted to hospital.

The Japanese Government have declared the situation a "national disaster", while earlier this month a Tokyo 2020 spokesperson told insidethegames they were "not optimistic" about the potential conditions.

"Tokyo 2020 is preparing detailed heat countermeasures with three targets; for spectators, for workforces and for athletes," they said.

Ideas that have already been discussed are for mist showers and special pavements to be used to reduce the risk of the heat.

Moving the clocks forward by two hours so events can take place earlier in the morning has also been suggested.