Despite the fact that when you think of the Winter Olympics the first image that pops into your head is typically crisp Alpine ski slopes and snow-tipped mountains, this image might be quite far from the reality on the ground at this year’s Winter Olympics.
Due to start on February 4th, this year’s Winter Games will have the unique honor of being the first in the history of the Winter Olympics run almost entirely on artificial snow.
To accomplish this feat, organizers have put more than 100 snow generators and 300 snow cannons to use to cover this year’s venue.
Although this might seem like a technological marvel, it is incredibly resource-intensive to run. Millions of gallons of water — in addition to chemical agents — will be required to produce the right amount of snow. It is estimated that a staggering 49m gallons of chemically treated water will pass through snow machines over the course of the games. This is in addition to the fuel required to power the snow-producing machines themselves.
Environmental scientists and other experts have also expressed a fear that covering these areas in snow and ice artificially could have an impact that lingers after the games. In particular, there is a risk that localized flooding could occur.
In addition to the resources required to carry out this feat, there are also very real dangers associated with it. If slopes, half-pipes and other event obstacles aren’t constructed and maintained properly, they can pose a real threat to the athletes. Freestyle skiers and snowboarders have expressed fears that they will simply consist of solid ice due to melting or will simply give way over time. This is because there is a risk that the ambient temperatures simply won’t be enough to sustain them.
While the very thought of running a full Winter Olympics entirely on fake snow might seem like some dystopian alternate reality, with the threat of climate change now a reality we are dealing with in real-time, this might be a familiar sight in years to come.
With all this in mind, concerns about the environment have come to dominate the coverage of what was already a controversial Winter Games. Participants, athletes and commentators alike have all agreed that winter events look radically different to what they did even just two decades ago.
Perhaps the most sobering prediction to come out in recent months relates to what the future of the Winter Games will look like with the negative effects of climate change only accelerating. Of the 21 venues that have hosted the games since the first event in 1924, environmental researchers estimate that by 2050, only 10 of these will have enough natural snowfall to host an event.
Despite the Chinese authorities’ assurances that this year’s games will meet the highest standards of sustainability, it is hard not to view them as a sobering peek at what the future of the Winter Olympics has in store.
