Winter Olympics threatened by local weather change: report

The Olympics in China, which begin on February 4, would be the first Winter Video games to rely virtually 100% on synthetic snow, based on the research.

“Slippery Slopes: How Local weather Change is Threatening the Winter Olympics”, was produced by the Sport Ecology Group at Britain’s Loughborough College and the Shield Our Winters marketing campaign group.

It says greater than 100 snow turbines and 300 snow-making weapons are working flat out to cowl the ski slopes of the 2022 Winter Olympics in synthetic snow.

The authors say it’s an power and water-intensive course of steadily utilizing chemical compounds to sluggish soften, but additionally delivers a floor that many opponents say is unpredictable and probably harmful.

“The chance is obvious — man-made warming is threatening the long-term way forward for winter sports activities,” the report says. “It’s also lowering the variety of climatically appropriate host venues for the Winter Olympiad.”

“The 2022 Winter Olympics will, little question, be an superior spectacle — watched and loved by thousands and thousands worldwide,” it provides.

“However they need to additionally provoke a debate about the way forward for snow sports activities, and the bounds of engineering synthetic pure environments. Slippery slopes lie forward.”

Of the 21 venues used for the Winter Video games since Chamonix 1924, scientists imagine that by 2050 solely 10 could have the “local weather suitability” and pure snowfall ranges to host an occasion.

Chamonix is now rated “excessive danger” together with venues in Norway, France and Austria, whereas Vancouver, Sochi and Squaw Valley in america are deemed “unreliable”.

British freestyle skier Laura Donaldson, who competed on the Salt Lake Video games in 2002, warned within the report of the hazards to athletes.

“If freestyle tremendous pipes are shaped from snowmaking machines in a poor (pure snow) season, the partitions of the pipe are strong, vertical ice and the pipe ground is strong ice,” she mentioned.

“That is harmful for athletes — some have died.”

Two-time Canadian Olympian Philippe Marquis raised issues concerning the improve in accidents attributable to the dearth of apply on snow and voiced environmental fears.

“Athletes really feel the urge to push their limits even when the circumstances are suboptimal,” mentioned the freestyle skier.

“The circumstances are positively extra harmful than what we have seen earlier than.”

Former British Olympic snowboarder Lesley McKenna added: “I’ve cherished the final three a long time in snow sports activities. However I harbour mounting fears for the place we might be in one other 30 years’ time.”