With Paris currently hosting the 2024 summer Olympics, and the recent announcement that France will be hosting the 2030 Winter Olympics, the topic of climate change and global warming is one of the major challenges for the future of the games.
The Paris 2024 Olympics is currently in its opening few days, and Europe is in the midst of a heatwave. The summer Olympics are ‘supposed’ to be warm, however, global warming is causing summers, on the whole, to become warmer. Not only will Paris have to battle the heat, but heavy rain has affected the water quality levels of the Seine which has prohibited athletes from training in the river.
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The organizers of the Paris games even invested over $1.5 billion for the river to be ready for swimming, however, rainy spring weather, and then as mentioned, heavy rain leading up to the games, has meant that as of a few days into the start of the games, the river is still not safe for the triathletes to swim in.
The heat is a major concern for athletes – with high temperatures and humidity expected in Paris during the first week of the 2024 Olympics. Fortunately, the heat has a positive effect on the water quality but can have a huge impact on the athletes.
Nutrition and hydration are key for athletes in the heat, and the Olympics has experienced soaring temperatures, with Tokyo 2020 (staged in 2021 due to the pandemic) being the hottest Olympics in history. In the Japanese capital, rugby games were rescheduled for earlier in the day, and mountain biking was held later to combat the heat.
For Paris 2024, medical experts were said to have co-operated with the organizers of the games to counteract high temperatures and keep the competitors safe, according to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
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By GlobalDataOlympic officials also provided a guide to remind athletes to prepare for the heat, training for 60 to 90 minutes a day in an environment similar to Paris, guarding against heat-related illnesses.
This is not the first time major competitions have had to adapt to accommodate the heat. The 2019 World Athletic Championships in Doha, Qatar, were rescheduled to late September and early October. As temperatures keep increasing, this is expected to happen more often. The Olympics aren’t as fortunate as they are planned well in advance and cannot be moved to a few months later.
The IOC is finding it more difficult to find cities not too warm for the summer Olympics, but also cold enough for the Winter Olympics. This is becoming increasingly difficult, with the IOC not wanting to plan too far ahead in terms of host cities.
The IOC has chosen the French Alps to host the 2030 Winter Games, and Salt Lake City to stage the 2034 edition. With the recent unseasonably warm winter temperatures, this has brought attention to the future of the Winter Olympics.
Vancouver 2010, Sochi 2014, and Pyeongchang 2018 all relied on artificial snow to some extent, and Beijing 2022 was the first winter games to use virtually 100% artificial snow. The lack of real snow shows that the ideal conditions for events, like alpine skiing, are becoming harder to find in nature.
According to a recent study published by the IOC, only 10 countries will still be in a position to host the Winter Olympics and Paralympics by 2040, down from the current 15, affecting Europe in particular.
The IOC providing a ‘double announcement’ was a deliberate move to give the host cities enough time to prepare, with snow cannons and financial planning likely to be at the forefront.
Making artificial snow is not cheap and will be a major factor for future host cities to consider. A positive for ski resorts is that they are already having to produce artificial snow during the winter season to keep the resorts open, therefore the infrastructure is already in place.
The French Alps had a really difficult start to 2024, with unseasonably high temperatures that remained above average, particularly during the weeks in February which are peak season for French ski resorts. The extent as to how long European ski resorts can remain open, as lack of snow can majorly hinder tourism, is majorly under threat.
With hosting the Olympic games being costly – London 2012 spent $17 billion and Tokyo 2020 $28 billion – this adds to the pressure of trying to be sustainable, or contrary, trying to combat the impact which global warming is having, and this is going to become more difficult for the Olympic host countries.
It is important to mention, on the topic of global warming and climate change, the extent to which Paris 2024 has gone to try and be sustainable and reduce its carbon footprint.
Any large event like the Olympics can produce vast carbon emissions through its construction, transportation needs, and energy usage. A key aspect of Paris 2024’s sustainability and carbon reduction strategy is the use of existing or temporary venues, which account for 95% of the total venues.
On a smaller scale, this is a positive for hosting large-scale events, but on a global scale, this is unlikely to affect the damage that has already been done and is going to be done by global warming.
Regarding the future of the Winter Olympics, the number of cities that will be able to host the games will only get smaller and thus put major pressure on ski resorts. Global warming is a worry, no doubt, but it is certainly manageable as it stands.
Globally, we are increasingly seeing more frequent extreme high temperatures and wet days, the heatwave in Paris for the 2024 Olympics is a prime example.
The Olympics may have to adapt in the foreseeable future to accommodate how the climate is changing, in what way this could happen is unknown.
From the huge scale of the event, and location, to the time of year, factors like this will have to be looked at within the next 10 to 20 years.
