Rising heat a concern ahead of Paris 2024; could future summer Olympics be at risk?

As the 2024 Olympic Summer Games approach, there is one thing on everyone's mind. The weather. It's not just the temperatures that are are concerning, it's the temperatures plus the humidity. The humidity is really what adds to the heat stress on our bodies, which can have really deadly consequences. The last time France hosted the Summer Olympics was in 1924. Since then, the annual average temperature has increased by 1.3°C since the start of the 20th century. The top three hottest years in France have happened since 2020. I think it makes for a worse game. It's also dangerous. It's it's in an athlete's DNA to push themselves to the absolute limits. You know, when you're talking about Olympic Games, the reason you're there is because you push your body to those limits within safe conditions, that's one thing. But when things get unsafe in these sort of 3035° temperatures, yeah, it becomes pretty dangerous. Climate Central has collaborated with other research organizations to produce Rings of Fire, a paper that outlines the potential risks for heat exhaustion and stroke. The report also underscores an important weather event in France, the 2003 heat wave that killed 14,000 people. I guess I still am just surprised of the timing of these Olympics. I mean, we have seen such deadly heat waves in this exact location at this exact time. Athletes are by far the most at risk here. But also people who are attending, people who are working, people who are outside. Just summertime competitions, unless they're held in the middle of the night, are going to become essentially impossible. The paper suggests smart scheduling to avoid heat extremes. And keeping athletes and fans safe with better rehydration and cooling plans. People are are going to continue to break records and be incredible at their sports. What I think might end up having very long term is the pool of athletes competing in sport will shrink as it gets more and more dangerous for young kids in particular to play outside. Because no parent is going to let their kid play at like 4550° heat. The Olympic Games officially kick off on Friday, July 26th.