Competition may not be the only thing heating up at the 2024 Olympics. Following scorching temperatures in Paris last summer, extreme weather patterns fueled by climate change may create more dangerous conditions for this year’s athletes.
Meteorologists can’t completely predict what Mother Nature has in store for Olympians. But last summer, Paris experienced above-average temperatures for nine straight days, and temperatures reached 95 degrees Fahrenheit in September. These extreme weather events have put new pressures on athletes at all levels, forcing them to pay more attention to how the heat affects their health and performance.
Stacker used data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other meteorological organizations to explore the temperatures of past Olympic Games and what climate change means for the quadrennial event in years to come.
Rising temperatures have wreaked havoc on sporting events in recent years. Event organizers and sports federations have had to create new policies—or even cancel events, like the 2023 Twin Cities Marathon—to keep athletes safe. Heat and humidity can cause permanent physical harm and even death, particularly when physical exertion occurs during prolonged, sustained exposure to the elements.
France is no stranger to making heat-related accommodations for sporting events: The nation hosted the 2019 Women’s World Cup during a heat wave. In the quarterfinal match between the U.S. and France, players competed in 90-degree weather. FIFA, the international soccer governing body, implemented mandatory cooling breaks when temperatures reached 90 so players wouldn’t overheat. In 2022, FIFA instituted mandatory breaks at the 89-degree mark or higher, allowing players to hydrate and cool off in potentially dangerous heat.
Extreme heat did not spare France’s prestigious Tour de France. In 2022, France experienced three brutal heat waves that were directly responsible for over 2,800 deaths, making it the country’s deadliest summer since 2003. One of these heat waves occurred during the Tour de France. According to the Washington Post, the finish day was forecast to be 93 degrees Fahrenheit, 20 degrees beyond the July average high. High temperatures throughout the race forced organizers to spray down roads to prevent buckling and allow more hydration. Still, heatstroke sent one rider to the hospital.
A year later, temperatures spiked again: The 2023 race also had cyclists riding through heat waves that hit many areas of France.
Extreme temperatures have wrought havoc on sporting events around the globe. In Qatar, the nation’s bid to become a destination on the world sports stage took a disastrous turn due to the heat. Qatar is located in one of the fastest-warming areas on Earth. The nation’s annual mean surface air temperatures rose nearly 4 degrees Fahrenheit between 1922 and 2022, compared to an increase of about 2 degrees Fahrenheit worldwide since the early 1900s. Track and field events at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Qatar’s capital took place in an air-conditioned stadium, but marathoners and race walkers competed on city streets in the desert heat.
Organizers shifted the women’s marathon start time to 11:59 p.m. in hopes of runners hitting their stride in cooler weather. However, the temperature was still a brutal 90 degrees Fahrenheit, contributing to 28 of the 68 runners dropping out, some of whom were carried away in stretchers. Thirty runners sought medical attention as a precaution. Unsurprisingly, researchers found the heat contributed to poorer performances, sharing their findings in a 2022 journal article.
After the race, a different sort of challenge took place. Some athletes expressed frustration with World Athletics, which allowed them to compete in high temperatures and brutal humidity. Belarus’ Volha Mazuronak, the fifth-place finisher, expressed her frustration to The Guardian: “The humidity kills you,” she said. “There is nothing to breathe. I thought I wouldn’t finish. It’s disrespect towards the athletes.”
As athletes contend with extreme temperatures, the heat is on for sports organizations
Climate change has affected sports for decades. “The Olympics and some of the bigger sport organizations started paying attention in the early ’90s, and this was largely linked to sustainability entering the public lexicon,” Madeline Orr, assistant professor of sport ecology at the University of Toronto, told Stacker. Sporting organizations began to shift their approaches to climate change.
While sporting organizations are making changes from the sidelines, athletes are experiencing the heat’s effect on their performance in real time. A 2023 World Athletics survey found that 3 in 4 track and field athletes felt that heat had a negative effect on their health and performance. Acknowledging athletes’ feedback, the International Olympic Committee developed a consensus statement to guide organizations on managing heat better.
The Winter and Summer Olympics, the pinnacle of sport, each occur once every four years. The Games have expanded over time to include more sports, athletes, venues, and spectators, driving up their carbon footprints. “That took off in the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s with globalization and cheap passenger travel, and it became a tourism spectacle and a commercial spectacle,” Orr said.
Sports organizations and athletes face formidable challenges. While they can oversee some aspects of athletics in a changing climate, the mindset and ambition of individual elite athletes are beyond their control. An Olympic gold medal is the most coveted prize among athletes. It’s no exaggeration to say that Olympians give their all—and that makes it tough for athletes to admit when the heat has gotten the best of them.
“Being an athlete is about the art of pushing your limits just enough to get the most out of your body,” Sam Mattis, a 2020 Olympic discus thrower, told interviewers in a report published by the British Association for Sustainable Sport and Frontrunners. “When a variable like heat or wildfire smoke enters the equation, it throws off that balance and it can be hard to know where your limit is.”
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