The 2022 edition of the Winter Olympics kicks off Friday in Beijing, China! You can watch all of the festivities on WSLS 10.
We’ve written plenty of articles about how climate change could affect us here in Virginia and elsewhere in the United States. We’re shifting to a global view today to tell you about how warming temperatures could affect the future of the Winter Olympics.
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19 cities have hosted the Winter Olympics since 1950 and every single one of them has seen a rise in February temperatures.
This year’s host, Beijing, has seen one of the more dramatic warm-ups. The average temperature has risen by nearly nine degrees Fahrenheit since 1950.
The biggest warm-ups have been felt in Oslo and Lillehammer, Norway (9.8°F and 9.2°F respectively) and the smallest warm-up was in Squaw Valley, California at 0.8°F.
A recent study from the University of Waterloo found that nearly all previous host cities would be unable to provide reliably safe and fair conditions for Winter Olympics outdoor snow sports by the 2080s under a high-emissions scenario. Only Sapporo, Japan would remain reliable under this scenario.
On the other hand, a low-emissions scenario would leave eight host cities with reliable snow conditions by the 2080s.
94% of athletes and coaches surveyed for the study were concerned that climate change will negatively impact the future of their sport.
You can find more warming numbers and details about how the Olympics are addressing climate change in this report from Climate Central.