How will climate change reshape the Winter Olympics? The list of possible host sites is shrinking

1 month ago 12

By JENNIFER McDERMOTT and PAT GRAHAM

Belgian biathlete Maya Cloetens can’t help but think about the future of winter sports as she trains for next month’s Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina, Italy.

Evidence of climate change is all around her in the mountains above Grenoble, France, where the 24-year-old fell in love with the sport that combines cross-country skiing and shooting.

Grenoble hosted the 1968 Winter Olympics, but its winters are shorter and milder nowadays, and with less consistent heavy snowfall. When the games return to the French Alps in 2030, Grenoble won’t be the focal point.

“I grew up there, and I really see the difference of snow,” Cloetens said. “In 15 years, it has completely changed.”

With the Earth warming at a record rate, the list of locales that could reliably host a Winter Games will shrink substantially in the coming years, according to researchers. The situation is serious enough that the International Olympic Committee is considering rotating the games among a permanent pool of suitable locations and holding them earlier in the season because March is getting too warm for the Paralympic Games, said Karl Stoss, who chairs the games’ Future Host Commission.