Climate change threatens the Winter Olympics

COLUMN

Whether we are cheering for Alysa Liu’s exceptional ice skating performance, watching Norway sweep gold medals across the board or questioning the life decisions of mountaineering skiers, it’s hard not to keep up with the Winter Olympics. However, with the climate crisis today, one could ask: are the games melting away?

Held every four years, the Winter Olympics showcase events ranging from skiing, ice skating, hockey and curling on an international level. This year, Milano, Cortina – the birthplace of alpine skiing – hosted the games in a much warmer climate than previous years.

According to Climate Central, average temperatures in Cortina, Italy, have risen by 6.4 degrees Fahrenheit since 1956, when the region first hosted the Winter Olympics. Since the number of freezing days has dropped by almost 20%, event organizers have had to produce 3 million cubic yards of artificial snow, creating icier and riskier conditions for athletes.

Even though event organizers pledged to be sustainable, alpine rivers have been depleted to make way for snow cannons, and dozens of infrastructure projects are urbanizing a mountain environment already strained by excessive tourism. Environmental organizations, including the Italian branch of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), issued a joint statement saying that the projects did not meet environmental sustainability standards.

Olivia Herron, director of sustainability at Miami University, works within the Physical Facilities Department on campus to facilitate solar panel and geothermal energy projects. While the International Olympic Committee has made efforts to become more sustainable, it is constrained in what it can do.

“Those in charge of the IOC are somewhat restricted in their influence because of politics,” Herron said. “There are limits in what the governing body can do while trying to remain as impartial as possible and to ensure that all countries feel welcome participating.”

Herron also said the Olympic Games have significant climate impacts.

“The greenhouse gas emissions from all the air travel from athletes, coaching staff, fans and families generates a greater environmental impact than just from the making of artificial snow,” Herron said. “This is because the production of artificial snow would have happened anyways due to its location in the Italian Alps.”

Climate Central also indicates that out of 93 current potential host sites, only 52 will remain reliable for the 2050 Winter Olympics. Furthermore, Salt Lake City, Utah – the potential host of the 2034 games – has only amassed .10 inches of snow this season, compared to its usual average of 33.4 inches typically accumulated by February.

The warming climate conditions and increasing production of artificial snow puts regions in the West at risk of severe drought conditions. For instance, sodium polyacrylate, a synthetic, plastic-like chemical used for production, stores more water and is non-biodegradable, leading to the suppression of plant growth and wildlife.

Snowmaking machines are powered by fossil fuels, pollute freshwater resources, and exacerbate greenhouse gas emissions through CO2 production. This affects climate change projections, such as Cincinnati’s drastic temperature changes in the near future.

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Herron uses statistics from Climate Central to see what future weather patterns will look like.

“In Southwest Ohio, we are expected to have six to seven more inches of rain a year, and about three degrees warmer in average temperature,” Herron said. “However, we’re going to experience more severe summer than winter impacts because warmer summer days feel more drastic and cause threats to human health such as heat stroke.”

At Miami, a warmer winter day may not seem like a bad thing, especially if it means trading in a heavy winter coat for a light jacket. However, historically warmer summer days will begin to feel miserably hot.

While it is difficult to conceptualize what a five-degree increase in winter weather may feel like, Herron recommends that students look up their climate sister city: a city whose modern-day weather is projected to resemble the future climate of another. For instance, Cincinnati is projected to have a climate similar to that of Achille, Oklahoma, in 2080.

With only a 17% likelihood of a white Christmas for Cincinnati currently, the best time to act is now. Christmas doesn’t feel the same without snow flurries and a cold winter breeze.

buzogamc@miamioh.edu