A recent analysis revealed that the extreme temperatures that affected many European countries – including France – in July would have been “virtually impossible” without human-induced warming. As the planet becomes increasingly inhospitable, one question arises: For how much longer will we be able to host the Olympics?
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Much like any other large-scale event, the 2024 Paris Olympics did not fail to stir up controversy. But while the world was busy debating whether an Algerian female contestant should partake in the women’s boxing competition or weather the Seine’s waters were safe enough for athletes to swim in, many failed to address the most unwelcome guest of all: climate change.
Heavy downpours marred the opening ceremony and worsened water quality in the River Seine, which the city spent $1.53 billion on in an effort to clean it in time for the Games. The decision to allow the triathlon to take place anyways may have resulted in a Belgian athlete contracting an E. Coli infection, and led to the withdrawal of Belgium from the competition.
The rain-soaked start of the Games has since given way to sun and extreme heat, with temperatures in the capital peaking at 36C (97F). In the South of France, where soccer and sailing are taking place, the mercury reached a staggering 41C (105F).
The heatwave, which affected many other countries bordering the Mediterranean last month, was made between 2.5C and 3.3C hotter by fossil fuels. In fact, according to an analysis conducted by World Weather Attribution (WWA), such extreme temperatures would have been “virtually impossible” without human influence on the climate system.
“Yesterday, climate change crashed the Olympics,” said Friederike Otto, a climate scientist from Imperial College London and co-founder of the WWA group. Without an atmosphere overloaded with emissions, Otto said, Paris would have been “much safer for sport.”
As Otto rightly said, it is getting incresingly harder to keep the Games safe. Requiring athletes to compete in these extreme conditions is risky, and WWA’s shocking conclusion should serve as a wake-up call for the organizers of future Olympics.
Stress caused by heat prevents our bodies from cooling down properly. Sweat helps our bodies cool off and maintain an ideal temperature, which ranges anywhere between 36.1C and 37.2C. But heat and humidity change the way sweat evaporates from the body. Not being able to to cool down properly – especially as night-time temperatures remain high – puts people’s health at risk. It can lead to increased cardiovascular and respiratory complications, dehydration, heatstroke, higher blood pressure, and sleep deprivation, and in more severe cases, it can be deadly.
For athletes competing outdoors in the hottest month of the year, the dangers posed by extreme heat shouldn’t be underestimated.
Many will remember Spanish tennis player Paula Badosa being escorted off the quarter-finals in a wheelchair after suffering a heatstroke at the Tokyo Olympics; or race walker Masatora Kawano throwing up over himself, then dropping to the floor during the men’s 50-kilometer race walk, which took place in the unforgiving 32C (90F) heat. They were just two of around 50 athletes experiencing a heatstroke during the 2021 Games, the hottest in history.
Fortunately, the organizers were prepared and had several heat countermeasures in place to protect athletes that prevented any serious consequences. The Paris Olympic Committee followed suit, though not without criticism.
Dozens of athletes condemned the absence of air conditioning in the Olympic village, a choice that was part of the committee’s commitment to have carbon neutral Games. Because of other cooling measures in place, organizers have said, the athletes wouldn’t need it. But not everyone agrees.
“Don’t come for me about my hair,” American artistic gymnast wrote on Instagram before last week’s gymnastics team final. “IT WAS DONE but bus has NO AC and it’s like 9,000 degrees. Oh & a 45 minutes ride.” Meanwhile, Italian swimmer Thomas Ceccon was spotted taking a nap in a park after openly criticizing the living conditions in the Olympic Village.
British tennis player Jack Draper complained about being given hot water during a match.
“I’m a big sweater so to retain fluid was tough. It was pretty poor. They give bottles to the players but the bottles don’t stay cool, so, you know, you’re drinking hot water out there,” he added. “That’s not fun in those sort of conditions,” he said, according to Reuters.
“I haven’t played in this kind of heat for four months, it’s really tough out there.”
So, the question arises: For how much longer will be able to have the Games as the world continues to heat up?
According to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), only 10 countries will be able to host snow sports by 2040 due to the impact of climate change. And what happened during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, when extreme heat melted the snowpack, forcing the organizers to resort to artificial snow, is just another reminder that we are running out of time.
In fact, fake snow was first used at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. Since then, the trend has been steadily rising, with the most recent host countries almost exclusively relying on it. Besides the huge environmental impact, fake snow is costing host nations millions of dollars.
In 2014, Russia used almost 80% of artificial snow for Olympic competitions in Sochi. PyeongChang in South Korea, which hosted the Games four years later, manufactured nearly 90% of the snow in advance for a total cost of US$6 million.
While the challenges faced by the summer Games are different, the bottom line is the same.
“While global temperatures continue to rise, climate change should increasingly be viewed as an existential threat to sport,” said Sebastian Coe, president of World Athletics and two-time Olympic gold medallist.
In a warming world, many argue that Paris could and should have compromised on its carbon neutrality goal to safeguard athletes’ health. Others, like the British Association for Sustainable Sport and FrontRunners, say the schedule of the sports competition should be changed so that it can take place over cooler months, or at cooler times of the day.
“There has never been a greater need for heightened awareness, discussion and research into what is
happening on the planet and why. Sport is just one part of that, but we cannot be spectators, we must all play a role,” said Coe.
“We are in a race against time. And this is one race that we simply cannot afford to lose.”
More on the topic: The Influence of the Sports Industry on Climate Change and How it Can Be Part of the Solution
Featured image: Wikimedia Commons.
