Athletes Warned of the Deadly Heat During the Paris Olympics

Climate scientists, along with a group of Olympians, including heat physiologists from England’s University of Portsmouth, have warned that warmer temperatures in Olympic months.

(The Post News)- Climate scientists, along with a group of Olympians, including heat physiologists from England’s University of Portsmouth, have warned that warmer temperatures could make it more difficult to hold the Olympic Games during the summer months at this year’s Paris Games.

The University of Portsmouth’s climate scientists, heat physiologists, and officials conducting the research regarding the increase of heat on living creatures have discovered that temperatures had increased by an average of 3.1 °C for the Olympic months of July and August compared to the information from the past 100 years since the Games occurred in Paris and France in 1924.

According to the report, which was released on Tuesday, June 18, by the British Association for Sustainable Sport and Front Runners, the intense increase in temperature in the French capital this summer could result in the athletes collapsing and, in worst-case scenarios, dying during the Games.

However, to avoid the athletes becoming victims of weather conditions, they should consider changing the traditional schedules of competitions, and the games should take place in cooler months or at cooler times of the day.

Researchers argued that extreme heat might result in a high risk of athletes’ health conditions, which can be dangerous for the athletes who are participating.

Kaitlyn Trudeau, senior research partner with Climate Central, said that without a concerted attempt to control carbon emissions, there will be no denying that the Earth’s temperatures are on a path that will make it nearly impossible to host the Summer Olympics.

Trudeau added that the extreme heat combined with humidity means that the body could find it hard to cool down, which can result in heat stress on the body, including dizziness, exhaustion, and heatstroke.

Samuel Mattis, a discus thrower on the American Olympic team, argued that the heat conditions resulted in disrupting the Olympic track and field trials in 2021, which were supposed to take place in the evening. However, the temperatures were still around 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit).

Team GB rugby sevens player Jamie Farndale said that the extreme heat extracts a lot from your body and makes it difficult for the fans watching the game.

He had expressed himself in these conditions where you’re trying to get past the next phase of play, where the hands are sweaty and you can only focus on catching the ball, which makes the game worse.

Sebastian Coe, president of World Athletics and a two-time Olympic gold medalist, stated the result of global warming on athletes could be assorted and wide-ranging, ranging from smaller performances resulting in conditions like sleep disruption to health issues.