As long-held weather patterns become increasingly unpredictable in the face of climate change, the Winter Olympics and Paralympics face a growing conundrum: On a warmer planet, who will be able to host?
For its part, the International Olympic Committee, fresh off hosting a Winter Games in Beijing that was almost exclusively held on artificial snow, has postponed the 2030 bid selection, saying it wanted to look more closely at the impact of climate change on potential Winter Games’ hosts.
When it comes to hosting future winter sports events, snowy Sapporo, which hosted the Games in 1972, may be at an advantage over much of the rest of the world.