WMO warns only 10 countries with enough snow left to host Olympic Games in 2040
The International Olympic Committee has revealed that only ten countries currently have a "climatically reliable outlook" for hosting the 2040 Winter Olympic Games. Could this signal the end of winter sports as we know them?
Global warming is rapidly shortening the winter sports season. Glaciers, which once allowed summer skiing, are shrinking at an unprecedented rate and failing to regenerate in winter. This threatens not only amateur winter sports but also professional competitions.
Can the FIS and WMO alliance save winter sports?
On 3 October, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) partnered with the UN's World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The five-year collaboration aims to assist national ski federations, venues, and competition organisers in improving weather forecasting to manage natural and artificial snow conditions.
Both organisations, headquartered in Switzerland, issued a joint statement warning that "winter sports and tourism face a bleak future due to climate change" and rising temperatures. FIS also reported that weather-related issues have already led to the cancellation of 26 out of 616 World Cup events during the 2023/2024 season, affecting disciplines such as Alpine and cross-country skiing, snowboarding, freestyle skiing, and ski jumping.
An existential threat to winter sports
Race organisers increasingly depend on local water resources to produce artificial snow for course preparation. It's now common to see race broadcasts showing a narrow strip of artificial snow winding through landscapes of brown and green forests and fields.
FIS President Johan Eliasch highlighted the gravity of the situation in a statement to the press: " The climate crisis is obviously far bigger than FIS, or sports, for that matter. It is a genuine crossroads for mankind." He further warned, "It is true, though, that climate change is, simply put, an existential threat to skiing and snowboarding."
According to WMO, Switzerland's Alpine glaciers have lost approximately 60% of their volume since 1850, and the number of snowy days has halved since 1970. Artificial snowmaking is a costly, energy-intensive, and water-consuming process that can also harm the soil.
The International Olympic Committee has projected that by 2040, only ten countries may have a "climatically reliable outlook" for hosting snow events during the Winter Olympic Games.
Source: euronews.com
