Dylan Bettencourt
Rapidly rising temperatures have cast doubt over the future of the Winter Olympics as the games will find it difficult to find suitable venues, a study has found.
A report released a week before the start of the Beijing games showed that only one of the previous 21 Winter Olympic venues would be suitable to host the games in recent times.
The study also revealed that cities such as Vancouver, Turin and Pyeongchang will be unable to host the Winter Olympics by the end of the century.
The University of Waterloo, which conducted the study, reported that the Alps, which has hosted several Winter Olympics including the first-ever games in 1924, would be the only reliable host for the games by the middle of this century.
Poor conditions at snow events have been showcased in recent times. The Alpine Ski World Cup in Zagreb this month saw the event cancelled after only 19 races, but not before a French athlete crashed and injured his ankle.
The Winter Games have also seen rising temperatures. The average in the 1920s-50s was around 0.4C while that increased to an average of 3.1C in the 60s-90s period. Now in the 21st century, the average temperature is at a record high of 6.3C.
Host cities have had to take drastic measures to ensure the games go ahead. Vancouver in 2010 resorted to transporting snow by helicopter. 2014 saw Sochi store tons of snow from previous winters to ensure the games would be possible.
Now in Beijing, the majority of the snow is made from water, using 49 million gallons to create the fake snow.
The Chinese capital is the most water scarce city in the world.
“If no action is taken to reduce climate change, many regions will have to say goodbye to winter sports in the long run,” said Sören Ronge, a campaigner at Protect Our Winters Europe.
Image source: @Fortune
