As the preparation for the much-anticipated 2024 Paris Olympics Games continues, the organizers are vigilant to the long-term weather forecast as record-breaking temperatures engulf Europe.
The Charon heatwave gripping the northern hemisphere is expected to worsen this week, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
For several days, temperatures in the Mediterranean, North America, Asia, and North Africa are forecast to exceed 40 degrees Celsius.
The Paris Games will be held from July 26 to August 11 next year.
"We are remaining very, very vigilant on temperature forecasts," said Tony Estanguet, a three-time Olympic Champion and President of the Paris 2024 Organising Committee, as reported by Reuters.
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Paris to keep Olympians cool without air condition
Organizers are planning to install an underground water-cooling system under the Athletes Village to keep athletes cool even without air conditioning.
This is the same system used to keep the Louvre Museum cool during last year's record-breaking heatwave.
This is part of the organizing committee's goal to stage sustainable Olympic games by cutting the carbon footprint by half.
The Athletes Village north of Paris will house 15,600 athletes and sports officials for the Olympics and 9,000 athletes and their support staff for the Paralympics.
"I want the Paris Games to be exemplary from an environmental point of view," said Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, as reported by the Associated Press.
According to the organizers, the event will emit approximately 1.6 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, compared to the 3.5 million tonnes averaged between London 2012 and Rio 2016.
Emissions are classified as travel, construction, and operations, which include lodging, security, and catering.
However, this move was called misleading by some experts.
"The event itself generates greenhouse gases that are bad for the climate. The financial support of the organizers to external projects does not change this," Lindsay Otis Nilles of Carbon Market Watch said.
Climate change affects sports event
According to International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, the effects of climate change had an influence on sport organization around the world.
The BBC stated that during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, marathon and walking race events were moved to a cooler city in Sapporo, as Japan's capital was experiencing a heat wave exceeding to 30 degrees Celsius.
Bach said that they are particularly concern for the winter and summer sports.
"We have asked our future host commission of both summer and winter games two years ago to look into this matter and to address the consequences of climate change to the organisation of worldwide sport," he added.
A spokesperson of Paris Olympics told Reuters that a contingency plan was in place to adapt schedules. However, there were no intention to change location of the games.
Most of the games will be hosted primarily in and around Paris, with certain activities taking place outside of the city, such as soccer at various southern venues and sailing in the Mediterranean waters off Marseille.
A sailing test was conducted during the heat without a problem last week.
"I can't imagine a scenario where sailing wouldn't take place in Marseille," the spokesperson stressed.
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