Leading athletes are warning that intense heat at the Paris Olympics in July and August 2024 could lead to competitors collapsing and, in the worst-case scenario, dying during the games.
The Olympic rings on Trocadero plaza that overlooks the Eiffel Tower. (Photo: AP)
New Delhi,UPDATED: Jun 19, 2024 14:27 IST
As the Paris Olympics inches closer, a consortium of Olympians, climate scientists, and physiologists have raised alarms the acute threat extreme heat poses to the biggest sporting event.
They have detailed their concerns in a collaborative report titled "Rings of Fire."
Leading athletes are warning that intense heat at the Paris Olympics in July and August 2024 could lead to competitors collapsing and, in the worst-case scenario, dying during the games.
Athletes and officials, including Lord Sebastian Coe and athletes from various disciplines, have voiced concerns regarding heat-induced health risks spurred by the historically high 2023 temperatures and the continuation of this heat trend into 2024.
The report concludes with five key recommendations aimed at ensuring athlete and spectator safety and advocating for a reassessment of fossil fuel sponsorship in sports. The University of Portsmouth, Climate Co Central, and Front Runners initiated the report, which is supported by the British Association for Sustainable Sport and Climate Central's expertise.
Eleven Olympians, including winners of five world championships and six Olympic medals, have collaborated with climate scientists and leading heat physiologists on the report.
"It is a terrifying prospect when we see the direction things are heading and how rapidly the climate is deteriorating around us," says Katie Rood, a striker for New Zealand's football team.
"It's not in an athlete's DNA to stop, and if the conditions are too dangerous, I do think there is a risk of fatalities," says Jamie Farndale, a rugby sevens player for Britain.
“For athletes, from smaller performance-impacting issues like sleep disruption and last-minute changes to event timings, to exacerbated health impacts and heat-related stress and injury, the consequences can be varied and wide-ranging. With global temperatures continuing to rise, climate change should increasingly be viewed as an existential threat to sport,” says Lord Sebastian Coe, President of World Athletics and four-time Olympic medalist.
Learning from the past
The Tokyo Games became known as the "hottest in history," with temperatures exceeding 34°C and humidity reaching nearly 70%, leading to severe health risks for competitors. The Paris Games have the potential to surpass that, with climate change driven by the burning of fossil fuels contributing to record heat streaks during the past months.
2023 was the hottest year on record according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, and 2024 has continued this streak. April 2024 was warmer globally than any previous April in the record books, said experts at Copernicus.
The "Rings of Fire" report discusses the deadly heatwave in France in 2003 – which killed over 14,000 people – and subsequent years of record-breaking temperatures, exceeding 42°C.
It points to the heightened risk of extreme heat during the Paris Olympics, especially considering the significant rise in the region’s temperatures since the city last hosted the Games a century ago.
What does the report recommend?
The report has five recommendations for sporting authorities:
* Smart scheduling to avoid heat extremes.
* Keeping athletes and fans safe with better rehydration and cooling plans.
* Empowering athletes to speak out on climate change.
* Boosting collaboration between sporting bodies and athletes on climate awareness campaigns.
* Reassessing fossil fuel sponsorship in sport.
President of Athletics Kenya, General Jackson Tuwei, says: “The findings of this report are grave, but they are unsurprising to us as a country that this year has received such vivid reminders of the devastating impacts of climate change - most recently in the floods that claimed so many lives in April and May. Challenges are mounting for athletes regarding air pollution, food and water insecurity, and lack of shade. And, as this report makes especially clear, the challenges of climate-change-induced extreme heat for athletes are extensive and pose risks of devastating outcomes.”
“At [the Tokyo Olympics] I felt like the heat was bordering on true risk - the type of risk that could potentially be fatal. One of the best tennis players in the world [Medvedev] said he thought someone might die in Tokyo, and I don't feel like that was much of an exaggeration [...]. We sometimes have to play in conditions where an egg can literally be fried on the court. This is not fun or healthy. Heatstroke is relatively common in tennis,” New Zealand tennis player and Olympic bronze medalist Marcus Daniell added.
Highest-ranking triathlete in Indian history, Pragnya Mohan, described being exposed to “scary” dangers “that can be fatal” as “your body feels like it’s shutting down” and recounts how she can no longer train in her home country because of the heat.
The Olympics are scheduled to be held in Paris between July 26 and August 11 of this year.
Published By:
Sibu Kumar Tripathi
Published On:
Jun 19, 2024
English (US) ·