Gold, Silver, Bronze! The planet is too hot for the Olympic Games!
Despite organisers in 2013 promising an ‘ideal climate’ for the Tokyo Olympics planned for 2020, the temperatures this year have been at record highs. So far, 30 staffers have suffered heat related illness with trackside temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius and humidity levels of 60%.
There is a huge risk of heat stroke at the games, which are the hottest on record both for the staff, the athletes, and even the horses which needed air-conditioned stables and close monitoring by vets.
The Games, which run from 23 July to 8 August, coincide with Tokyo’s hottest summer on record. A tennis match was delayed after tennis world number 2 Daniil Medvedev warned that they “can die” in the heat, and similar complaints were received. Hockey players were given double the usual number of two-minute breaks. The first week of the games had humidity levels ranging from 66–84%, making it feel much hotter and limiting the body’s ability to cool down through sweat and evaporation.
Makoto Yokahari, professor of environment and urban planning at the University of Tokyo and adviser to Tokyo 2020, said that “Tokyo Summer is the worst in the history of Olympics”.
More than 1,000 deaths were recorded from the country’s 2018 heatwave. This year, from July 19–25, more than 8,000 people have been hospitalised for possible heat stroke. The International Olympic Committee said it has been taking precautions to deal with the heat, supplying water and shade at venues with the health of the athletes being at the ‘heart of their concerns’.
Last week, Russian archer Svetlana Gomboeva was treated for heat exhaustion when temperatures reached higher than 32 degrees that day. Russian tennis player Daniil Medvedev was struggling during his match but chose to play on saying; “I’m a fighter, I will finish the match, but I can die” and later commenting that he “couldn’t breathe properly”. That same day, Spain’s Paula Badosa was forced to retire from her match with heatstroke and escorted off the court in a wheelchair. Novak Djokovic described conditions as “brutal” saying “I’ve played tennis now professionally for 20 years, and I’ve never faced these kind of conditions in my entire life on a consecutive daily basis”.
In addition to the extreme climate, the athletes have had less time in Japan to acclimatise to conditions due to Covid-19 restrictions. In 1964, the Tokyo Olympics were held in October, in the autumn, to save against the heat of the summer months. But according to a report from the British Association for Sustainable Sport, temperatures in Japan have increased three times as fast as the world average since 1900. However, researchers warn that the problem goes beyond Tokyo, with most cities being too hot for the summer Olympics by 2085.
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/07/30/sport/tokyo-2020-heat-weather-spt-intl/index.html
Written by: Claire Carlisle
Edited by: Amber Howells
