If we do not reduce the emissions responsible for global warming, very few cities will be left that are capable of hosting the Winter Olympics.
Twenty-one cities have hosted the Winter Olympics since 1924, among them the Italian venues Cortina d'Ampezzo and Turin. If we fail to reduce the emissions responsible for global warming, only four will still be suitable in 2050 (Lake Placid, Lillehammer, Oslo and Sapporo). Of these, only one will remain in 2080 (Sapporo). This is the stark truth revealed by a group of scientists from the University of Waterloo, in Canada, who published a study in the journal Current issues in tourism.
If, on the other hand, we keep the rise in temperature well below two degrees Celsius, as stipulated by the Paris Agreement on climate, nine venues will be able to host the Winter Games again in 2050, and eight will be able to do so in 2080.
To reach these findings, the researchers interviewed 339 of the world's top athletes and coaches, and analysed four parameters that affect the safety of a Winter Olympics: excessively high or low temperatures, rain, wet snow and lack of snow.
Honouring the Paris Agreement is crucial to saving winter sports.
Daniel Scott, researcher at the University of Surrey
Over the past fifty years, conditions have deteriorated at every location examined — a trend that shows no sign of reversing. This was evident at the Alpine Ski World Cup races held in January in Zagreb, Croatia: the warm weather and lack of snow forced organisers to cancel the men's slalom after nineteen athletes had completed their runs, one of whom — Frenchman Victor Muffat-Jeandet — was injured precisely because of the poor state of the course.
Temperatures at the Games have risen steadily — from an average of 0.4°C in the 1920s–50s to 3.1°C in the 1960s–90s, reaching 6.3°C in the 21st century — leading host cities to adopt increasingly drastic measures to ensure competitions can take place. Beijing, for instance, was forced this year to rely entirely on artificial snow. A measure that may no longer be sufficient in the future.
"The weather and snow quality have changed a great deal since the start of my career. Teams need very flexible plans if they want to reach the best training venues. These sports risk becoming even more elitist and requiring ever greater resources," snowboarder Lesley McKenna told the British newspaper Guardian.
The impact that climate change will have on mountain resorts is a concern not only for professional athletes, but also for recreational enthusiasts, as well as the owners of mountain huts and other businesses tied to the mountains. It should concern all of us, because what is unfortunately at stake is not merely medals or snowshoeing excursions, but the future of our species.