(Paris) A new report by climate scientists and athletes warned Tuesday of the dangers of extreme temperatures during the Paris Olympics this summer.
“Intense heat during the Paris Olympic Games in July and August 2024 could lead to the collapse of certain athletes, or even their death,” warns the Rings of fire report, co-written by the NGO Climate Central, British academics from Portsmouth and 11 Olympic athletes,
The Paris Olympics will take place from July 26 to August 11. In recent years, the city has been hit by heat waves and heatwaves.
Last summer, more than 5,000 people died in France due to heat, according to data from Public Health France.
A study published in May in the journal Lancet Planet Health found that Paris had the highest heat death rate among 854 European cities, due to its population density and limited green space.
The Rings of Fire report calls on organizers of major competitions, such as the Games or the Football World Cup, which usually take place at the height of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, to rethink their calendar.
The study also encourages organizing committees to improve rehydration and cooling plans for athletes and fans to avoid the risk of heat stroke.
More than high temperatures, it is the incessant rains that are currently worrying organizers, with regular downpours in May and June leading to unusually strong currents in the Seine and poor water quality.
Paris 2024 organizers say they have built some flexibility into their program so they can move events such as the marathon or triathlon to avoid mid-day heat peaks.
But spectators will mostly gather in temporary stands that will not be shaded, while the Olympic Village was built without air conditioning in order to reduce its carbon footprint.
A growing number of athletes have called for an adaptation of their programs to take into account the physical constraints linked to the increase in temperatures caused by global warming, according to the study.
“Heat-related sleep disruption has been cited in preparation for the 2024 Games as a major concern for athletes, particularly due to the lack of air conditioning in the Olympic Village,” the report said.
Olympic teams have the option of installing portable air conditioning units in their accommodation, which many have accepted.
Indian triathlete Pragnya Mohan, cited by the report, said she left her home country to escape high temperatures.
“With climate change, heat has increased significantly,” Pragnya Mohan told reporters. “I can’t train in my country. This is one of the reasons why I moved to the UK. »
During the Tokyo Games, considered the hottest on record, temperatures regularly exceeded 30° with humidity of 80%. Organizers had moved the walking events and two marathons 500 miles north of the Japanese capital in hopes of cooler weather.
Despite a series of anti-heat measures, including misting stations, many athletes suffered, such as Russian tennis player Daniil Medvedev who wondered out loud on court if he was going to die.
After Tokyo, International Association of Athletics Federations president Sebastian Coe, who wrote a foreword for the report, warned that competing in “very harsh climatic conditions” was the “new normal”.
