Paris Olympics could be the hottest ever: Athletes concerned for health and lives due to extreme heat

(Patria) - With temperatures exceeding 34°C, the Tokyo Olympics, held in 2021, are known as the hottest in history, reports Klima101.

The upcoming Paris Olympics could surpass them, leading to even more serious health risks for competitors.

The Summer Olympics, held in Tokyo in 2021, are considered the hottest ever – temperatures exceeded 34°C.

Combined with high humidity, the heat affected the health of participants.

Some athletes fainted and vomited at the finish line, competitors were transported from arenas in wheelchairs, and famous Russian tennis player Daniil Medvedev even wondered who would be responsible for his death if it happened.

"I'm a fighter, I'll finish the match, but I can die," Medvedev said at the time.

Ahead of this year's games, starting on July 26, fears are rising that the French capital could experience even more extreme temperatures than the Japanese capital did.

Eleven Olympians gathered with leading climate scientists Mike Tipton and Jo Corbett from the University of Portsmouth to expose the dangers for athletes on an increasingly warming planet. The result of their work is a new report titled "Fiery Rings: Heat Risks at the Paris 2024 Olympics".

"We now know that the Paris Games could potentially break the Tokyo record," warned Emma Pocock, executive director of the organization FrontRunners, which helped produce the publication.

Since 2021, reliance on fossil fuels has caused even greater global warming, and the world has experienced 12 consecutive hottest months on record from June last year to May this year. Consequently, situations where extreme heat undermines sporting events are becoming more frequent.

"If the planet continues to warm, the sport we know and love is in danger," Pocock said.

Since 1924, when Paris last hosted the Olympics, the average annual temperature in the city has risen by 1.8°C. While there are an average of 23 warm days (25+°C) and nine "scorching" days (30+°C) per year, the report states.

Another consequence of climate change is stronger and more frequent heatwaves, of which Paris has experienced fifty since the mid-last century.

The authors remind that about twenty years ago, specifically in July and August 2003, precisely during the Olympic Games, a severe heatwave caused more than 14,000 deaths in France.

In light of climate change, this year is no exception to the trend – the National Meteorological Service has already predicted that the period from May to July will be warmer than normal across the country.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is clearly aware of the growing problem. In a 2022 statement, they proposed various measures to protect athletes' health, with a special focus on heat:

"Unfortunately, the level of environmental heat stress experienced by elite athletes will continue to rise in the coming years due to a combination of increased prevalence, intensity, and duration of heatwaves occurring due to climate change and the globalization of sport, leading to more competitions being organized in extremely hot climates."

Warm and/or humid conditions make it difficult for athletes to regulate their body temperature, reducing their physical performance, especially in endurance disciplines. Health risks at high temperatures range from sunburn and cramps, to exhaustion and heatstroke collapse, which can be life-threatening.

Although sport is not usually the first association when discussing the negative impact of climate change, the example of the Olympic Games shows that it certainly exists and that, accordingly, rising temperatures leave a deep mark on various aspects of our daily lives.

Therefore, in addition to reducing harmful emissions, it is important to focus on adapting to the already changed climate.