Climate change induced heat stress will limit Olympic venues

Professor Alistair Woodward from
the University of Auckland - he says
it will soon be too hot in most places
to stage the Summer Olympics.

Heat stress due to climate change will limit where and when the summer Olympics can be held in the future, according to new research from the University of Auckland.

The study, published in the British medical journal, The Lancet this week, looked at the impact of increased temperatures on Northern Hemisphere countries’ ability to stage the iconic Summer Olympics’ marathon.

“High-visibility international athletic events such as the Summer Olympics represent just a small fraction of heavy exertion outdoors,” says co-author, Professor Alistair Woodward head of the University’s department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics.

“But increasing restrictions on when, where, and how the Games can be held owing to extreme heat are a sign of a much bigger problem.

“If the world’s most elite athletes need to be protected from climate change, what about the rest of us?” he says.

By 2085 the study finds almost 90 percent of large cities in the Northern Hemisphere will be too hot and humid during the summer months to safely run the marathon.

Read the University of Auckland story - “When will it be too hot to hold the Summer Olympics?”