Climate change is threatening the Winter Olympics and the future of snow sports by making conditions much more dangerous for athletes and participants, experts warned in a report published a week ahead of the start of the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing.
The Beijing Games, kicking off on Feb. 4, will be the first Winter Olympics to use virtually 100% artificial snow by deploying more than 100 snow generators and 300 snow-making guns working flat out to cover the ski slopes.
Though China repeatedly claims to be using only natural rainfall and recycled water in snowmaking, there have been concerns that the high water utilisation rate would put additional pressure on the region's already scarce resources.Natural snow is becoming less plentiful in some regions and water availability for snowmaking is falling as a result of climate change, putting the global snow sport industry at risk.
"The risk is clear: man-made warming is threatening the long-term future of winter sports. It is also reducing the number of climatically suitable host venues for the Winter Olympiad," it said.
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